The Detective & The Pixie
by Child of Loki
Summary: Because in my head, there's a universe in which Danny Williams and Nell Jones have been involved in a long distance relationship since meeting in the crossover (Pa Make Loa/Touch of Death)... Danny/Nell
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own either** _ **Hawaii Five-O**_ **or** _ **NCIS: Los Angeles**_ **or their characters…**

 **Author's Note: So, my head is constantly filled with about a dozen different universes, and sometimes they get all mashed together, especially of the fanon varieties. And I honestly had never intended to post this story at all, but it just refuses to leave me alone. It's the one constantly playing in my head lately, and is presently refusing to be ignored. Hopefully, getting it out there and out of the way will free up the flow for the other stories. But who knows?**

* * *

"Did you have a good Christmas?"

Danny Williams gave the petite red-head wearing an all-too-innocent expression a look signifying that she should know better than to ask.

"Not really, no," he said. "But I rather not talk about it."

" _You_ rather not _talk_ about it?" Her lips that were pink and just a little shimmery with gloss twitched, a smile sparkling in her eyes as she arched an eyebrow in amused disbelief.

"You know what, Nell Jones," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You and Steve McGarrett would get along great."

"You think?" She seemed to glow a little, and Danny made a note to quit talking about his partner and best friend so much when he called the young woman, or they video-chatted (if Kono was around to give him a refresher on how exactly to do that).

"Yeah, you share several things in common," he said. "Including, residing amongst your favorite activities, harassing the hell outta me. Just count me out when you do finally get together. I'll make the introduction, but then I'm, you know..." He made a gesture demonstrating how gone he would be for that little meeting.

"Think we'd say bad things about you?" At first glance, Nell Jones seemed to be a sweet young woman, but god, could she tease, harangue and harass with the best of them. And god help him, he liked the feisty side of her. Even though that spirited nature sometimes meant she served on operations for her team of secret undercover Navy cops in a more dangerous capacity than her title of 'intelligence analyst' implied. But what the hell, might as well add another person to his list of individuals whose safety made him often lie awake at night, overburdened with anxiety and worry. Which was nothing compared to the anxiety he felt over her and Steve ganging up on him.

"Oh, I know it, babe," he said, pulling her close and leaning in for a kiss. That was an additional bonus to dating Nell... A woman he had to lean down to kiss when they were standing. It was a dopey Neanderthal instinct, he supposed, but he had begun to see the appeal, the odd primal thrill in being with a woman you could easily toss over your shoulder and carry off to your cave. It didn't happen often to someone of his -yes, he was admitting to his- _smaller_ stature.

And she tasted good. And he really, really liked her. She was intelligent in book smart and street smart ways, passionate and compassionate, and filled with an inner strength that was extremely impressive. And for some odd reason, she seemed to like him, too.

Hence the meeting up in New York the day after Christmas, spending the night together in a hotel before catching a flight out to the west coast. He had a couple more days after that before he was due to fly back to Hawaii, so if they found that they truly liked each other's company close-distance as much as they did long-distance, then there was a little more time they could spend... doing... whatever.

But god, how he _wanted_ her. It'd been two and a half years since... well, their first date, he supposed was what it was, but they'd really just been sort of pen pals, only with phone calls and emails, and even texts and video-chats (although that wasn't really his thing, he didn't mind doing it for her, plus seeing her face always brightened his day). It was hard to believe that much time had passed, but in the past six months, something had changed in how he felt about her, and if he was any judge, she him. There'd been pregnant pauses during phone calls, staring and shy smiles on video-chats, and innuendo in texts that bordered on outright lewd. And when they'd talked about their Christmas plans (his were quite depressingly Grace-less), realized they'd both be on the East Coast, the plan to meet up in the city had materialized. But despite all the flirting that had intensified over the past few months, he hadn't been presumptuous in booking the hotel room.

"You got a double," she said, that same expression of stifled amusement on her face that he'd come to know so well, and admittedly rather adored, even when it was being employed upon him. He shrugged, then set their suitcases down in the corner of the room.

"I didn't want you to think I was easy, that you could take advantage of my trusting nature."

This earned him a full grin, before her delicate fingers curled around the collar of his shirt and tugged him down for another kiss.

"Too late," she said against his lips. "You're mine."

* * *

 **A/N: So, obviously a little AU because it's not exactly going to fit into the canon events. But for some reason Danny Williams and Nell Jones have been an item in my head for awhile. This fic will basically be the development of a relationship between them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: So, I was surprised by actually receiving some sort of response to this random concept, but am glad to find some familiar faces/names in the reviews (hi, guys!). And knowing you guys knowing me and my writing, we won't lie to each other. We're in this for the Nell smut, aren't we? But I am a firm believer in relationships and character development making the smut that much better. So first, let's get to know our new couple's history a little bit…**

 **Alternate ending for** _ **NCIS: LA 3x21 Touch of Death**_ **, in which instead of getting the hell out of dodge, Danny Williams isn't flying back to Hawaii until the following day and is curious about a certain intelligence analyst pixie.**

* * *

 _ **Two and a half years earlier (give or take)…**_

"What's the deal with the cute little redhead?"

The two federal agents paused as they collected up their gear, heading out for the end of the day. They'd closed the case, and it had been a long day, so he couldn't blame them for fleeing. Hell, Danny himself wanted nothing more than to crawl into his own bed. Unfortunately, he wasn't even in Pineapple Hell, but the ever-sunny runner-up, Los Angeles, California. What was next, Retirement Central, Florida? Some days he missed Jersey something fierce. But every once in a while there was a little ray of sunshine, such as an intriguing auburn-haired pixie with big doe-eyes and a wry, knowing smile.

But maybe he'd misread the relationship dynamics between this team, because the senior agent and his big, ex-SEAL partner were currently giving Danny a perplexed look. Maybe they didn't work all that closely with the rest of the Office of Special Projects staff. Or maybe they were just the cowboy type, who didn't ever rely on or call in back up (well Danny knew _that type_ ), and they had no clue who he was talking about.

"You know, the petite, doe-eyed girl you've got caged up with the computer nerd?" Danny tried to be more specific.

"You mean Nell?" Agent Callen asked, an incredulous look on his face and in his tone of voice. God, was the man really so dense? Or just blind not to notice the attractive woman they'd hidden away in the dark?

"Yeah. Nell," Danny said, memorizing the name, assigning it to the pretty face he'd studied maybe a little too closely earlier. "What's the deal there?"

"I... don't know what you mean," Callen said, scrutinizing the detective as if he were speaking a foreign language... well, one the super-agent didn't understand very well. Had he really never noticed that petite, curvy little body or those sexy, sexy eyes of hers? Danny shifted his gaze to the big man standing beside his clueless partner, and Sam Hanna began to grin, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. Danny begged for assistance with a gesture of his hands.

"G, Detective Williams means that he'd like to know whether Nell is attached," Agent Hanna said. "You know, married, boyfriend..."

"Oh," Callen said, realization finally dawning on him, as he turned to a red-faced Danny once more. God, so much for being subtle. "Oh. Not that we know of. I mean Eric has a huge crush on her, but she doesn't really seem to reciprocate."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, now embarrassed about his intentions towards the young woman. He just wanted to see if she might have dinner with him. But approaching the two men like he was just one of the guys and they could give him an in with a member of their team... well, apparently they either didn't register Nell on the 'female' radar at all or thought of her in a protective, brotherly way. Which Danny could understand. But even so, he would know when someone was talking about the sexy dark-haired chick on Five-O, that they meant Kono. Okay, so she was the _only_ woman on their little task-force, but still, he wouldn't be taken aback that someone noticed she was a woman, and an attractive one.

"Uh, guess I'd better not go there, then," he said.

"Nell's a big girl," Callen said.

"In a manner of speaking," Hanna added, apparently finding this all rather amusing. His partner gave him the silent scolding look that was the same between all partners. Picking on the little pixie's size was uncalled for. Danny wondered how often the petite young woman had to deal with it. His team, his _friends_ knew better than to harass the not-statuesque detective about his height... at least, very often, or more than the passing quip. See, he hadn't even held a real conversation with the woman, and he already felt he was getting to know Nell.

"The point is that Nell is capable of making her own decisions," Callen said. "So I'd go for it, detective. What harm could it do?"

There was that point. He sometimes got a little awkward and nervous around women he liked, mainly resulting from a fear of rejection, he supposed. Thanks to the ex-wife for that one. But if Nell turned him down, it wasn't like he'd run into her around town. Any such awkwardness would be entirely obviated by his return to Hawaii tomorrow. And it wasn't even like he had lascivious hopes for the evening. He just thought there was something captivating about her, and he wanted to have dinner with her. That was all.

"Thanks, guys," Danny clapped his hands together, a subconscious gesture signifying he'd made a decision. "The past few days have been..."

"Exhausting?" Callen suggested.

"Painful?" Sam Hanna said.

"I was going to be courteous and say 'eventful' but since you guys mention it, yeah, rather hellish," Danny said, recognizing law enforcement banter of an extremely familiar quality. "I thought only Stephen McGarrett could conjure this kind of mess, but I suppose he can't be everywhere in the world, even though he thinks he's superman, I swear."

"Sounds about right," Hanna said of his fellow ex-SEAL, chuckling along with his partner, before extending his hand. The big man had a SEAL-handshake, that was for certain.

"Thanks for all your help, Danny," Callen said, shaking his hand, and then his gaze shifted to over Danny's shoulder, and he grinned. "Good luck."

And then they were heading out the door, dragging the shaggy-haired detective and the foxy brunette, as well as Chin with them, headed for a bar. Which left Danny alone to turn around and spot the petite red-head sporting a light jacket and a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She was giving him a curious, evaluative sort of look.

"Detective Williams," she said. God her eyes were intense, scrutinizing him as she pursed her lips. "You're still here?"

"I was... uh... just headed out," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, trying not to stare. He knew he had a tendency to stare at women he was attracted to... And Nell Jones was extremely pretty in a unique, and highly intriguing sort of way. Those eyes of hers were the most intelligent, curious and gorgeously round, he'd ever seen. "To, uh, grab something to eat. Have you had dinner?"

An amused smile spread slowly across her face, a dark auburn eyebrow arching.

"No, actually," she said.

"Well, since they keep you locked up in that tower and don't even feed you, maybe you'd like to escape, explore the world... grab a burger with me?"

Now, she was trying to school her very genuine grin.

"Are you saying your my knight-in-shining armor, come to rescue me?"

 _Hm..._ that was dangerous territory. Nell Jones didn't seem the coddled, princess type. Which was good. Because while Danny could be instinctively quite protective of womenfolk, he didn't like ones that expected him to jump at their every command. And he was by no means a perfect, chivalrous hero.

"You seem the type to do the rescuing yourself, if you thought you needed it," he said. Now she was no longer trying to keep the pleasure from showing on her face. "Besides, I need _you_ to rescue _me_ from starvation. Know any good greasy spoons? Or have you fallen in with the whole 'West Coast Los Angeles movie star health foods kick' crowd?"

"There's a decent diner just a couple blocks from here," Nell said, her eyes returning to that scrutinizing stare that could probably detect all the defects in a person better than an MRI. "But who says I wasn't born and raised in LA?"

Danny shrugged. "Nobody."

And then he grinned at her. "I just know an East Coast girl when I see one. God, I miss Jersey, sometimes."

"I'm not from Jersey," Nell said, but he had obviously already won her over, hooked her with his people-reading skills. Honestly, trying to get a read on her, wanting to know if he was right, was more enticing than her pretty hazel eyes.

"I know." He gave her a wink, holding out his arm, which she slipped her own through, her hand cool on his bare forearm but her body putting off just a slight, pleasant warmth at his side.

* * *

 **A/N: Slight apologies. I think the bitterness that I had from the boring, Nell-less second-half (or much more, wasn't it?) of season six of** _ **NCIS LA**_ **bled through here. But let's face it, they claim to be a family that cares about each other, but they barely interact outside their 'partnerships', and especially with Nell. (The exception being when they're dumb and get her into dangerous situations).**

 **A/N2: I know Danny's pretty smooth with the ladies, but I really liked how awkward and shy he was around Gabrielle in the beginning (about around this time in the series?) because he was really into her, not just because she was hot. I feel like Nell would fall into that 'cute, smart girl that makes him nervous' category.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm hoping that writing these Nell-centric crossovers, and maybe rewatching earlier** _ **NCIS: Los Angeles**_ **episodes (maybe just he best Nell ones to start) will get me back into the series? And maybe some Nallen? But honestly, season six completely lost me about halfway through, to the point where I'm not sure I can go back to the series at all. I suppose binge-watching** _ **Hawaii Five-0**_ **(without having watched more than a couple episodes before) while** _ **NCIS: LA**_ **was letting me down wasn't the best of ideas. But now we have this 'unexpected' (good word choice, ?) crossover pairing. :-p**

* * *

"So..." Nell said, after they'd placed their orders with the waitress. Detective Williams seemed like the type to appreciate a good greasy spoon, so she'd taken him to one of her favorite small town style diners. Honestly, she wasn't much of a chain restaurant type of person, and she couldn't imagine that the old school Jersey boy was, either. "What else do you _know_ about me?"

The man had initially seemed like such a stereotypical big city detective, talkative and energetic, issuing a constant string of criticism, his hands as active as his mouth. But there was a cleverness to his slate blue gaze, good humor in those faint laugh lines around his eyes, and a softness about his mouth, all of which denoted a complex and engaging personality.

"You're from the East Coast, obviously the Northeast given the lack of any Southern twang whatsoever," he said. "New England. Definitely New England."

Nell practiced her best poker face. If she was ever going to be a true undercover agent, she needed to keep her emotions, her reactions from showing, giving her thoughts away. But the small (still taller and larger than her), admittedly sexy detective had some very intriguing people skills.

"Really?" Was her tone as even as she hoped? He grinned at her reluctance to appear impressed. It was a lovely smile that lit up all of his attractive features, and she had to fight even harder not to succumb to its pull, not to smile broadly in return.

"Yeah. I'm right about you, Nell Jones. I know I'm right," he said, leaning forward slightly, his hands accenting his confident, playful words. "Middle child, genius, over-achiever from... New Hampsh-no, Maine."

The surprise was too swift and poignant for Nell to keep it from showing. She felt her eyes grow wide, and her lips part. Oh, she knew she wasn't all that complicated, and that she was no expert at the whole unreadable, unflappable spy thing. But still, the Jersey-Hawaiian detective had a serious set of deductive skills. Or he was just really good at guessing...

He chuckled.

"You're a little young to be so good at what you do, hence the over-achieving middle child syndrome. It's not a bad thing, though. Obviously. I mean look at you, secret government agent with a pixie cut."

Nell _was_ smiling at him now. Because Danny Williams was a strange, overwhelming, and impossibly charming force that she wasn't sure anyone could resist. Even Deeks who had almost immediately clashed with his fellow detective, had seemed to warm to the man by the end of the case.

"What makes you think I'm from New Hampshire? Or is it Maine?" she asked, unwilling to let him get carried away with his self-satisfaction. Apparently this was a challenge and Detective Williams liked to play games of will and words.

"Because, well, you are, aren't you? From Maine, that is."

"Oh, no you don't," Nell said, now leaning forward herself with her elbows on the table, pointing a finger accusingly at him. "A mere guess is not going to impress me. You already hinted around and got me to admit I'm from the East Coast and not from New Jersey. That narrowed things down quite a bit. You started to guess New Hampshire, but I must have let slip a micro-expression and you shifted next door to Maine."

Danny nodded, chewed his lip, obviously having something to say but holding his peace while she talked.

"You're obviously educated in interrogation, Detective."

"So I get no points here?" he asked. "Even if I admit that yes, I've been educated in how to read people. It's called being a beat cop on the mean streets of New Jersey for six years before earning my detective's badge through good, old fashioned police work. And spending basically every day of my life since busting criminals."

Nell catalogued every movement of his hands, the changing expressions on his face, that twinkle in his eye that belied the offended and defensive tone of his voice, his voice that despite his supposedly anxious state was a quiet and appealing -slightly gravelly- softness. One would think such an expressive, expansive personality would cause others to withdraw, but rather Danny Williams' entire demeanor seemed to be an invitation, whether he meant it to be or not, whether he was in your face or standing by and quietly observing the proceedings.

"So where were you taught interrogation tactics, Miss Jones?" he asked after she finally realized he'd been studying her as much as she had him and they'd wound up staring silently at one another for a moment before reality reasserted itself, along with proper decorum that declared staring to be 'rude'. "Quantico?"

"I'm not allowed to divulge that information," she said, remaining straight-faced for a moment before she let the smile twitch the corner of her mouth. It earned her another one of his really, _really_ nice grins.

"Hmm." He pursed his lips, nodding. "Should've figured that. You guys are just a bunch of friggen spies, aren't ya?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed you're avoiding the question," Nell said, leaning back to give the waitress room to deposit their plates and thanking her quietly, whilst never breaking eye contact with her opponent. Oh, it was all friendly conversation, really, and what tension there seemed to be between them was of an entirely different nature than 'hostile', but she still couldn't help but think of this encounter as some sort of game. Maybe not chess, with its long-term, big picture strategy, but definitely something in which the players tested each other's wits and boundaries.

"And don't use the excuse of 'Trade Secret' or the like, detective, because I'm not buying that. I'll just have to assume that you're full of bull shit." She picked up a French fry, cooked to golden crispy perfection and tossed it in her mouth, grinning wickedly as she chewed.

"Well, my dear friends who seem determined to ignore my words of wisdom would probably insist that I am full of bull shit," he said, shoving a couple fries into his own mouth and chewing, a twinkle in his eyes. "But not on this count. I got it right. You're the middle child, very smart. And from the good old Pine Tree State."

Bastard. He was purposefully stringing her along, goading her on because she must have let it show that his being one-up on her was irritating to her ego. Because she had no idea how the detective had accurately guessed where her family was from, where _she_ was from. Or why the hell he knew that Maine was the 'Pine Tree' state. Who in their right mind knew that? Not even its residents knew that.

"Okay, okay." He chuckled, that damn smile and infectious mirth lighting him up from the inside once more. "Quite glaring at me. I'll share with you my impressive and wondrous detective skills for the edification of your Quantico-taught self."

"You drop your 'r's."

Nell felt her face go pink. Her parents had the old school New England accent, and she could fall into it easily enough, but she had always thought she'd maintained the generic, mainstream American, TV accent pretty well.

"I do not!"

His hand, with strong but gentle fingers, brushed over hers. He grinned again. And she simultaneously hated him and was ridiculously attracted to him.

"I'm just teasing you, Nell Jones. I just made an educated guess based on the fact that you wear long-sleeved shirts, heavy tights and a jacket in the middle of Sunny and Warm Perfect Los Angeles, California."

He paused, moved his hand to pick up his burger and took a bite, his eyes glittering playfully at her as he chewed and her brain worked overtime to make the bizarre leap of logic from her sporting layers of clothing and being from Maine. Well, she supposed she was raised to know that layering up was the only way to dress for comfort, and survival, in the North. But how would a Jersey cop know that little nuance of cold climate living? The Mid-Atlantic states were downright temperate in New Englanders' books.

"Would my supposedly excessive amount of clothing not indicate the contrary? If I were born and raised in a Northern climate, would I not in fact have a lower tolerance for any amount of heat?"

"You gonna eat your burger?" Nell looked down at her forgotten meal. She'd been far too distracted by her dining companion, eager to learn how his unexpectedly wily mind worked. It was a little surprising that a man who talked _so_ much was able to maintain some secret depths. He simply stared at her, expectantly, patiently, like a hard-nosed head mistress, like a parent with a small child who refused to eat. Oh. Now that was interesting. She logged away the tidbit to test later, picking up a burger and taking a theatrical bite, which seemed to satisfy the man.

"Air conditioning," he said, his tongue swiping over his lips as he tried to control that grin of his and failed. "Northerners have no call for it but what, two days of the year when the permafrost thaws? But these sunny paradise types blast the shit 24/7, don't they? And although I hear New Englanders can be as stingy as hell, they don't got nothin' on a Newark housewife, and even my sainted mom who could hear the click of the thermostat from two doors down and locked it at inhumane levels, kept a house a couple degrees warmer than these 'I love the sun and beaches' freaks do."

Although he'd been teasing her horribly the entire time, he obviously respected her enough to let her complete the last connection in his odd logical deduction that had produced a surprisingly accurate result. Because she appeared to be colder than other people in LA, she must be from the North. Weird. But somehow, it made sense. Danny Williams' brain must be a strange place.

* * *

 **A/N: So, yeah, sitting around talking in a diner about the mundane… Maybe that Tarantino marathon wasn't the best of ideas for the sake of my writing (but at least I didn't end up torturing anyone horribly, right? Except for maybe you guys?)**

 **A/N2: And yes. There will be more talk before we get to the smut. Because don't you want to see Nell stick it to Danno with her mad genius deduction skills?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: More of 'the dinner that began it all'…**

 **SMUT THAT-A-WAY (points to next chapter that I shall post soon… and a couple after that, too… not that I write too much smut or anything…)**

* * *

They ate in silence for a few moments, studying one another and doing nothing to hide the fact, before Nell decided that it was currently her move.

"How old is your daughter? 8 or 9?"

Detective Williams paused, a French fry momentarily suspended halfway between his plate and his mouth, his pupils dilated slightly as he locked eyes with her, before he shrugged off his extremely brief shock and popped the ketchup-drenched fry in his mouth and chewed, beginning to gesture purposefully at her with his expressive hands.

"Almost had me there for a second. But Detective Schnauzer and his leggy ninja partner with the weird eye thing -is it cybernetic? I wouldn't be surprised with you hardcore secret agent types… Anyway, they must've told you that I called my daughter earlier today."

"And when exactly would they have done that? Between questioning suspects and chasing down crazy small pox plague-sowers? You were there the couple times I even saw them today."

The slate blue eyes narrowed at her, likely scrutinizing her for any tells that she was lying. Before he could decide, she pushed further.

"How old was she when you and her mother divorced?"

It was likely a sore topic, but Nell was curious beyond reason about the man, wanted to know if her deductions -assumptions, really, she supposed- were correct. If he was indeed a complicated mix of talkative and attentive, cynical and soft-hearted, false cautiousness and unwavering loyalty, all wrapped up in a grating and yet extremely charming package.

At first, he appeared offended, but his mouth softened from a tight line as he chewed his cheek and, studying her, seemed to find something satisfactory in her face.

"Too young to be moved halfway across the planet from one of her parents," he said. Oh. So that was the reason the man who seemed Jersey to his core had ended up in Hawaii, a place that even in the short time she'd interacted with him, he obviously disliked. But she couldn't help but wonder if it was more the circumstances that had brought him to the islands. Whoever the former Mrs. Williams was, she'd done quite the number on the detective.

"Okay," he said, waving off the slightly awkward tension that had formed. "I'll bite. The divorced thing was just a statistically probable guess since I already admitted to being a parent. But, giving you the benefit of the doubt, assuming that you did not in fact get tipped off by your -let's say _colorful_ colleagues, what makes you conclude that I have a daughter?"

"There's something about the bearing fathers have that's different than how childless men comport themselves."

He gave her an incredulous look.

"In other words, you had a gut feeling and went with it," he said. "Not very _logical_ , _intelligence analyst_ Jones."

"Only cops are allowed to be intuitive, _detective_?"

He tilted his head, shrugged, conceding to her point.

"But why don't you think I have a son?" he asked, obviously still intrigued.

"You might. But there's definitely a daughter," Nell said. And perhaps she was going primarily on intuition. But it wasn't just that. Intuition was just the brain cataloguing, organizing and analyzing data so seemingly insignificant and yet existing in such copious amounts that it could not be processed by the conscious mind. There were many little things about the man that had led her to believe that he had a daughter. And the short answer was that it was indeed all behavioral, all in his demeanor and bearing, how he reacted and interacted with the world. She'd seen it in her own father. And those of her friends'. She'd seen it in other men, too. Sometimes subtle. Sometimes extremely pronounced, like with Sam Hanna. And like with Danny Williams.

"It's different for a man when he has a daughter," she tried to find the words to explain as those slate blue eyes studied her, the food now forgotten by both of the dinner companions. "He might be proud when he's produced a 'son and heir'. But when he has a daughter, he feels even more protective and perhaps aggressive, because it's only then that he looks at the world and realizes how unfair, how much more difficult, harder and crueler it is for a woman. For his daughter, a man doesn't want to prepare his child for the world. He wants to change the _world_ for _her_.

"At least, in the case of good fathers, men such as yourself."

The detective had a slightly shocked expression, likely due to the ridiculously cynical spiel that had just flowed from her mouth, or the not-subtle compliment tacked onto the end. But then he nodded, chewed his lip. Nell felt herself blushing. Some interrogator she was. Maybe she should just stick to the analyses, done from a distance and summed up in a written report, without ever facing its subject.

"It's because you chose to sit right there," she said when she'd finally fought down her embarrassment enough to look at her dinner companion once more. "A soldier, someone trained to think of survival first, they pick the seat with their back to the wall and a clear line of sight to the door. A cop would've sat where you've placed me -and don't think I didn't notice I wound up exactly where you wanted me to be- with a clear view to the group of men just behind you, which while not blatantly a criminal element, pose the most threat in the diner."

The detective was looking at her as if he'd ordered a scotch on the rocks in some dive and shortly found himself sipping at 40 year old whiskey distilled and aged in the Highlands. Surprised and pleased, and wondering at how bizarre the universe was that he found himself in such a situation as this. Nell tried to ignore it, pressing forward with what she felt was a pretty impressive bit of deductive reasoning.

"But you're not just a cop. Your primary instinct was narrowly protective, was to place yourself between the female and the threat."

"So because I'm chivalrous -or chauvinistic, depending on one's opinion- I must have a daughter?"

Oh, talking to Danny Williams was fun. Most people would've been stuck at shock over her ridiculous observations and over-analyzation of banal behavior. But instead, he was testing her, making her prove herself and her point. Or maybe he just liked to argue. God, she could see that in him. He was probably fantastic at it, when he really got going. She'd never told anyone, and she sure as hell wasn't telling a man who was practically a perfect stranger, but she'd had to quit the debate team in high school, because when she got worked up over a good argument, she _really_ got _worked up_.

"Also, you keep glancing at that family over in the corner," She indicated the perfect-looking couple with their tow-headed small children.

"Maybe I just don't hate children. Doesn't necessarily follow that I have one of my own."

She snorted, likely unattractive, but his assertion was so blatantly bull shit.

"Your face lights up when you watch them, but in a bittersweet nostalgic sort of way," Nell said. "Ergo, you not only have a child, a daughter, but she's school-aged, because you're remembering when she was as young as those toddlers."

Danny shook his head, chuckling, before locking his steel blue gaze directly upon her and jabbing a finger in her direction.

"You're gonna make one hell of a spy."

"Who says I want to be a spy?" she said, unsure why she was making him work for every inch of their conversation, besides the fact that it was the most intriguing interpersonal encounter she'd experienced in a long time. She worked in an office filled with rather bizarre personalities, but she never had call to talk anything but business with them, really. And when she'd gone out with the team for drinks and the like, they interacted like any group of friends, telling old stories and cracking inside jokes. It was meant to be a relaxing, light experience, which was fine. She enjoyed just observing them, but desperately wanting their approval and respect, she'd kept her comments, her deductions, to herself. Danny Williams, however... There was just something about him that invited her to be herself, her _true_ self. Maybe it was his own brand of intriguing openness. He was who he was, without apology or compromise, said whatever was on his mind whenever he felt like sharing it. She wasn't afraid that he'd think she was too confident, too full of herself, too smart for her own good, or just plain too weird. "I'm an intelligence analyst."

Detective Williams gave her a knowing look and a Cheshire grin, one that was all too personal for the brevity of their acquaintanceship, like he already could see what was in the heart and soul of her.

"A feisty young woman like you? No way you'd be content to spend all your days locked into the nerd farm with the pale, friendless virgins."

Her cheeks grew hot as he seemed more amused by her reaction than ashamed of his word choice. Virgin, not hardly. But lord, had it been _a while_ , to the degree that yes, she might as well be the pale, friendless virgin stuck indoors while the cool kids got to go out and play. Was it really so obvious to everyone that she wanted more than anything to be the one off having adventures, chasing down bad guys, doing fun, sneaky undercover spy stuff?

"Your team doesn't seem the type to follow protocol or play things on the safe side, so why aren't you out there, getting shot at with the rest of us idiotic do-gooders?" He was leaning in, his elbows on the table, but his hands still somehow gestured as actively as seemed standard for the man. "Unless they aren't aware of your... _secret desires_?"

His tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip and she knew he hadn't meant it _that_ way, but god help her, something inside of her that she'd forced into dormancy for the past couple of years stirred. She didn't especially want to wake that slumbering beast, or even acknowledge its existence. Romantic and/or sexual relationships always became complicated, no matter how hard a girl tried to keep them simple. And Nell was focusing on her career... which Danny was right about. She wasn't being very assertive for someone who so desperately wanted to be a... well, yeah... a _spy_ , she supposed.

She avoided looking at the captivating detective, instead hailing the waitress and ordering a piece of triple chocolate cake, deciding to smother her lust as if it were a different craving she also kept under strict control. The detective ordered a piece of blueberry pie with a cordial smile before he turned his full attention back to Nell, and she wasn't sure if she was glad of it or not. Perhaps, he sensed her conflict and confusion, for they chatted in a much more superficial manner over dessert, not mundane chit-chat, but not the bizarrely intense conversation they'd had over dinner.

Detective Williams insisted upon paying the bill, citing his upbringing and that if she refused to let him cover the check, his mother would somehow just know that he'd behaved ungentlemanly, track his ass down and give him a thorough chewing-out, if not a beating. And then they found themselves awkwardly standing out front of the diner, not knowing how to say goodbye to someone they just met but obviously _clicked_ -if not _sparked_ \- with, but would likely never see again.

"Um. Well, this has been interesting," the detective said, rubbing the back of his neck before shoving his hands in his pockets, behaving in what could be almost called a 'shy' manner, which Nell found incredibly amusing after several hours of the talkative, shameless man. "We should talk again sometime."

"You just want a second chance," she said, catching his eye and holding his slate blue gaze. "You can't stand losing."

"Losing?" His hands left his pockets, unable to contain his reaction. "I didn't realize we were playing a game."

Nell raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "Oh, didn't you?"

He chuckled, muttered something about his luck -by the tone, he had mixed feelings on whether it was good or bad- at meeting intractable, impossible people, and befriending them. Nell beamed inside. _Friend_? God, yes, she'd love to be Danny Williams' friend, to learn more about the quirky detective, to have weirdly intense conversations with him, to see what it would take to get his obviously energetic personality truly worked up. How far could she push him? How much would he let her get away with? What made him tick?

Yes, Nell decided, as they said a reluctant goodbye, engaged in what was initially an awkward but ultimately a rather nice hug that lasted just maybe a second longer than it should have, that if he didn't call her, she would call him.

Henrietta Lange, master-spy (and her quasi-mentor) had collected friends, assets like a soldier stockpiled ammo for battle. And even the old strategist would have to admit, Detective Williams with his acute sense of morality and loyalty, would be quite the weapon to have in one's arsenal.

At least, that's how Nell rationalized her desire to stay in contact with the man, to see him again.

* * *

 **A/N: SMUT AHEAD, so beware of the rating change for the next chapter…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I'm still loving writing these two together…**

 **WARNING: Contains mature subject matter (smut).**

* * *

 _ **Two and a half years later (give or take)…**_

Danny generally liked to take his time with a woman, making love to her like he prepared a fine sauce, not rushing through the preparation but savoring every step of the process, the anticipation a slow, complex build that made the end result all the more delicious, taking teasing little samples here and there, honing the skill of his hands.

And he would love to do precisely that with Nell, spend hours exploring her body, learning every sensitive spot on her naked skin, reveling in her reactions as he pushed her higher and higher towards a climax that would put his name on her lips.

Unfortunately, however, this little encounter had already been on a slow simmer for months (okay possibly years, if he counted the first time he'd entertained an erotic fantasy about the perky little pixie). And whatever had been cooking apparently was more akin to extremely hazardous chemicals, because the mix of their two physical bodies being in close proximity... there'd been an uncontrollable reaction. Literally, Danny had lost all control.

The last he knew Nell had been pulling him down for a kiss, one that wiped away all memory of kissing any other woman, or burned it off, as it were. In short time, they'd wound up mostly naked on the end of the bed, Nell on her back, in just her bra, a thin lacy deal in a sage green that made her eyes sparkle mischievously. Or was that just the lust they were reflecting back at him? He'd managed to shed his own shirt, push his pants and boxer-briefs off his hips, pull her bottom flush to the edge of the mattress and take her in one swift thrust that made her cry out sharply, made him freeze as his wits seemed to return to himself and he was flooded with guilt to accompany his body's insistence that he finish what he'd started.

He'd hurt her. There was no way he hadn't just hurt her. And he had never hurt a woman like that before. He'd broken a couple's hearts, damaged their feelings, but never... Well, okay, there'd been Sally who'd always complained that he was… um, too large. And that girl, Marisol -no, Marta who'd outright refused to try when she'd seen him naked… Now that could give a man a complex. But he'd definitely just accepted their decisions and moved on, had never roughly, hastily… He forced himself to look down at the young woman lying tensed and mostly naked beneath him. Nell was staring up at him with those _fucking_ gorgeous eyes of hers, but they weren't filled with hate or disgust or even fear and pain. Her fingers were digging into his biceps as her hands gripped him tightly, almost as tightly as her wet, hot flesh held the length of his erection that he'd managed to plunge into her. He wasn't fully inside of her. And it was more than a little apparent at the moment that she might never be able to take him in his entirety. But he wasn't about to try to find out.

"I'm sorry," he said, as she lay there, staring into him, her eyes so big and intelligent and yet so enigmatic, her breathing unsteady as her body dealt with the shock of his invasion. He shifted his weight, preparing to pull out of her, but was stopped by her legs wrapping about his hips, clamping him in place. She didn't draw him further into her, but it was clear that she was not letting him go, either.

"Don't you dare, Danny Williams," she said, breathless, her hands reaching to encircle his neck and drag him down for a kiss. His guilt and anxiety eased beneath the caress of her lips, and he felt the damned lust rise up fast inside of him once more as the kiss turned from tender to intense, open-mouthed and more than a little rough.

It broke, leaving them both gasping for air. He could feel the hum of her body in the warm flesh that embraced him so snugly as to border on unbearable. He couldn't remember the last time being with a woman, _inside_ of her, had felt like this. He dare say, it had _ever_ felt quite like this, like the devastating clutch of Nell Jones' tight little body. Tight, and supple. Round. Perky. Soft. Satiny.

"You feel so _fucking_ amazing, Nell," he said, not caring if he sounded cheesy or pathetic or mundane. It was the truth. She was destroying him. Her naked flesh holding his, resistant even as it stretched to accommodate him. Silky smooth against the sensitive skin of his... "Oh, shit."

She blinked, her eyes widening a little further over his alarm.

"Condom," he explained. He'd taken leave of his senses when they'd finally touched, kissed, and of course hadn't thought to take precautions before he'd eagerly shoved his cock in her. Asshole. He could be such an asshole.

She laughed, but didn't release him. Her body shook with the laughter, the movement enough to make him grit his teeth against the invitation of the enticing friction.

"Guess we were a little too eager," Nell said. "We didn't have The Talk."

"How 'bout you let me pull out of ya, and we can discuss the birds and the bees to your heart's content," Danny offered, not trusting himself. It was taking all of his goddamned focus as it was to restrain his disgustingly primal urges. It was a tension radiating from his loins all the way up to the muscles in the back of his neck as he fought the instinct to grab the extremely feminine curve of Nell's hips and thrust wildly into her until he achieved his own climax with no thought to her.

"How 'bout you stay right where I want you, so I can get used to the feel of your ridiculously large self-"

Danny groaned. How the seemingly innocent young woman conjured that 900-number-worthy sexy voice, or that naughty glint in her eye, he had no clue. But it would be his destruction.

Slightly to the normally loquacious detective's dismay, she continued. "And I'll explain to you how I'm on birth control, clean, and want to feel you come deep inside of me, fill my belly with your heat."

Oh, fuck. Unable to speak, or do anything but concentrate on not coming that damned second and embarrassing himself, Danny merely groaned again. He felt Nell's soft hand on his cheek, and he forced his eyes open to look at the fucking evil little pixie once more.

"Is that okay with you?" she asked, all innocence belied by the sultry edge to her tone.

And here he thought it'd been his primal male id that had dominated _her_ , had pushed the situation, had forced it into its insanely quick escalation. Because Nell was the one who had wound up on her back with him looming over her, forcing her thighs apart and shoving his cock into her. And maybe it had been a physical shock to her, hurt her a little, but now Danny realized who was in actual control of this little encounter. His devious, clever little minx.

He growled.

Most people weren't that self aware. But Danny would argue that he was, if only for the fact that he well knew how much he talked, how many words he used in a day, their superfluous variety, his constant need for communication and connection to the world outside of his head. So it was quite shocking to discover that Nell Jones had stolen the ever-present words from his mouth. Not that they needed them. Because over the past couple years, they'd gotten to know each other so well. It was strange to discover he knew a woman so thoroughly without having ever touched her, kissed her, held her, made love to her. He trusted her, and she him. He knew that she hadn't dated, hadn't had sex in nearly two years. She knew about all of his failed relationships, the few there were since he'd gotten divorced. She also knew about his insane fear of contracting some nasty disease from a blood transfusion after being hospitalized from one of McGarrett's heroic escapades, and as such that he maintained a hypochondriac's schedule of check-ups. And so she knew, that when he began to kiss her and touch her, and thrust slowly in and out of her, they were okay... Well, STD-wise...

Danny moved haltingly, hyperaware of her straining flesh, of every gasp and muscle contraction as her body attempted to decide whether to continue to fight his invasion or to relent and accept him. At least she was quite wet, easing his careful penetration somewhat, but he wasn't sure his own stupidly frustrated body had the patience required not to hurt her, to coax her from pain to pleasure before he climaxed.

"I'm not going to last long," he said quietly, pausing in his mouth's attentions to her neck.

"Neither am I," Nell said, confusing him slightly. Or maybe he wasn't in fact simply hurting her as he tried to sink deeper into the tight embrace of her. Her breath was labored, her body tensing against his slow, shallow -from his perspective, but maybe not hers- thrusts. "Just touch me. And I'm gone."

It was an invitation he couldn't resist, to make her orgasm, to watch her succumb to pleasure at his hands for the first time. Levering himself off from her a little more, he placed a hand on her stomach, just below her breasts, watching her face like an art aficionado studied a masterwork in person for the first time, as he began to slide his palm downward, over her flat but soft belly. He didn't know what kind of man it made him, but he liked his women soft. Healthy, shapely, and somewhat strong was good. A little athletic and toned was... _okay_. But not too much. He much preferred smooth skin and supple feminine flesh to hard, firm and unyielding muscle, invitingly soft flesh like the warm unerring curve of Nell's belly...

Her lovely skin gave way to the coarser texture of the auburn-colored curls that covered her pubic bone, and then his fingertips were brushing against the place where his body joined hers, and fuck, if it wasn't the most erotic sensation. He probed her flesh a little, found the most sensitive spot on her body, and caressed her, gently at first for she jerked and sucked in a sharp breath at the initial contact. However, it only took a few sure strokes of his fingertips to transform her into an ecstatic, moaning creature, writhing beneath him, her body tensing convulsively around him, pulling him over the edge along with her.

The orgasm tore through him, blinding pleasure following in its wake, a dizzying, overwhelming surge that literally blinded him, forcing him to close his eyes, willing his heart to resume beating and his lungs to continue respiring when his body tensed, seemed to stop entirely, and he collapsed on top of the gorgeous young woman who was continuing to moan and shudder as her body attempted to equalize as well.

If he were any sort of lover, he'd touch her a little more. It would be easy enough to work her into another orgasm, or several for that matter, her body was still so hypersensitive, little aftershocks making her muscles twitch and soft mewling moans emanating from the back of her throat as she lay there breathing heavily through her nose.

If he were any sort of gentleman, he'd get his ass up, find a washcloth or a towel and clean her up a little, because although he'd come as deep as he could force himself into her, her thighs were coated in their mixed bodily fluids, and it was probably not all that pleasant. He himself felt a little uncomfortably sticky.

But alas, the massive flood of endorphins had done a complete number on his body, and his brain, and Danny barely had the energy to kick the rest of his clothes off from his ankles, climb up onto the bed and pull Nell close, collapsing on his stomach beside her.

Blinking, he watched her lace-covered breasts, appealingly full and supple, bob up and down with the expansion and contraction of her chest as she lay breathing heavily on her back. He placed a hand on her belly, just below her ribcage, enjoying the warmth of her, the beating of her heart as it gradually slowed.

Oh, what the hell. He might be no good at it in his post-coital stupor, or maybe even drift off in the middle, but he slipped his hand lower, probing the now damp curls and slick flesh between her thighs, searching for the still swollen and sensitized bundle of nerves at the apex of her sex. Her smaller, delicate hand found his, he thought in order to guide him, but rather she stayed him, her fingers surrounding his wrist and pulling his hand up to deposit it on the side of her stomach.

"It's okay," she said. "Go to sleep now. There'll be time for that later."

 _Well, you heard the woman._

He hugged her, kissed her cheek, and then buried his face in the fall of her hair upon the pillow, breathing in the slightly minty scent of her shampoo as he quickly drifted off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: So, um, I think this chapter may have gotten out of control…**

 **WARNING: SMUT! And some coarse language.**

* * *

Not wanting to wake her companion, Nell suppressed the whimper as her body issued complaints about being used in ways it hadn't been for a very long time. Perhaps she should've been insulted or disappointed that Danny had fallen asleep on her after that extremely intense initial tryst. But she wasn't. Not only had it been the inevitable culmination to at least six months of unresolved sexual tension compounded daily, but she was also enjoying studying him in this unguarded state, completely relaxed. Well, as relaxed as the energetic and effusive detective likely could be. Even in his sleep, his fingers twitched where they rested against her side, his arm draped across her middle, his face buried in the pillow beside her head, his breath stirring her hair so that it tickled her neck. The corner of his mouth twitched in his otherwise placid face.

She pressed her lips to his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his warm skin, breathing in the delicious and surprising scent of him. How had she forgotten the ironically tropical aroma of the detective who claimed to hate his island home? She'd expected the man with New Jersey in his blood to smell of some spicy cologne, overwhelmingly so, if his meticulously slicked back hair, fitted slacks and shiny shoes were any indication. But he didn't. It wasn't an intensely fruity or flowery perfume, but his scent was distinctly tropical, sort of like high-end sun tan lotion, which was extremely amusing to find on a man who loathed the beach.

Danny Williams was a man of contradictions.

He griped about getting into gun fights, fist fights, violence of any sort, yet willingly followed his partner into all sorts of dangerous situations. His complaints about the state of Hawaii were never ending, yet Nell knew he held a deep affection for what had become his home. He bitched about his ex-wife, but it was also apparent that he still loved her, would always love her in some fashion. Because, at his core, he wasn't a contradiction at all. He was solid, unwavering, filled with nothing but loyalty and affection. Once he decided someone was a good person, a person he cared about, he became devoted to them, without hesitation. He would be there for them no matter what the circumstances, no matter how they changed. And when he loved, there were no conditions, there was no going back. Which was why his heart had so much scar tissue. It was easy to hurt a man who refused to retreat when things got rough.

Nell promised herself to never hurt him (well, more than he could handle, and knowing the man, it would take more than mere arguments and tiffs to cut him deeply). Because god, how she wanted to know what it was like to earn his love... She sighed.

 _Oh, to be loved by Danny Williams…_

She knew that he cared deeply for her. There was no doubt about that. But ever since that deepest wound to his heart, left by his ex-wife, which had apparently damn near split the fragile organ in two, the man was understandably reluctant to love, since it wasn't something he did by halves. And from what she could tell, romance-wise, he hadn't let himself really love anyone since Rachel. But such a man couldn't live entirely without an outlet for his emotional affection. He had his daughter. And he had Steve McGarrett. The two men were the kind of best friends that were closer even than brothers. And deny it all he wanted, perhaps because it wasn't 'manly' to admit your emotional reliance upon another man, but Nell knew how much Danny loved his friend.

How much more intense would it be to earn such an effusive man's love in a romantic context?

Nell wanted to know. God, how she wanted to know.

"Quit thinking so hard. The gears grinding in your brain are so loud a man can't get in a single wink, let alone forty." His voice was muffled and a little sleepy sounding, but his hands had already awoken, tracing circles against her skin. And they weren't the only freshly roused part of him. Nell glanced at the clock. Apparently, Danny Williams' recharge cycle was about twenty minutes. Something she should probably be aware of... for her own safety. And other reasons.

"Well, if that brief encounter was all it took to exhaust you..." she said, attempting to get a rise out of him... Well, more than what was already stirring against her hip.

"C'mere, you smart-mouthed little pixie." He shifted, pulling her to lie beneath him, settling himself between her thighs, causing her insides to tense as his stiffening cock pressed against her belly, the skin hot, taut and soft. Her vagina wasn't exactly pleased with what she'd done earlier, but to hell with it. The rest of her was becoming quite aroused, remembering the orgasm he'd given her, reveling in the presence of him. Because the man himself aroused her, every part of him, everything about him. His fit body, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, and his shapely, firm ass. His hands that never, ever stilled. The vaguely tropical scent of him mixing with the male musk of lust and sexual release. The way his tongue darted out to wet his lips when he was deep in thought or overly emotional. His loquacious mouth, that only seemed to be silent when he was kissing her, his tongue equally talented in the task. And his steel blue eyes that could be playful, affectionate, gentle and piercing all at once as he looked at her, _into her_.

Danny Williams was the most powerful aphrodisiac she'd ever experienced. And Nell, logical human being that she was, wasn't one to deny the facts. Danny turned her on just by being Danny, because she had fallen head-over-heels in love with him.

"I'll show you exhausted. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be so spent a week-long coma will sound like paradise. " He kissed her fiercely, his tongue darting out in its usual subconscious affectation, only to swipe over her lips rather than his own, causing her to gasp and grant him entry. His tongue thrust into her mouth, teasing her, as his hips rocked against hers, his growing erection rubbing against her in tantalizing and terrifying promise.

She gasped his name when he released her mouth to begin tracing a trail down her body with his talented lips and tongue, starting at her throat, exploring her collar bones and mapping the valley between her breasts before he began to tease them through the lace of her bra. She buried her fingers in his hair, further mussing it from their earlier romp, kneading his scalp and moaning lightly as his tongue, warm and wet, worked at her left nipple through the rough lace fabric. After several seconds, Danny appeared to be dissatisfied with the barrier, removed his mouth, slid his fingers beneath the fabric, cupping her breast in his - _oh, god_ \- wonderful hand, giving her a little squeeze that she felt in the core of her and finally popped the mound of flesh free of the lace. His mouth immediately latched onto her once more, fervently sucking at her nipple, making the heat blossom in her belly and face. When he withdrew and made to pay equal attention to her other breast, she was surprised she managed to find the words to instruct him to simply remove her bra, the only item of clothing currently between the two of them.

Having freed her of the garment, Danny assaulted her other breast with his mouth, this time using his teeth more than his tongue, the little nips sending jolts of pleasure-pain through her, before he shifted, bestowing the same sort of love bites along the sensitive skin of her neck, one skilled hand stroking her side, belly and hip, caressing the swell of her buttocks as she instinctively bucked beneath him.

And then he was making the journey back down her body with his mouth, his tongue and teeth exploring her skin, finding all of the hidden sensitive places, some of which were previously unknown to Nell herself. By the time Danny had his face buried between her thighs and his incomprehensibly talented tongue was stroking her in just the _perfect_ way, Nell was half-gone already. She barely had enough coherency to twist her fingers into the blankets beside her hips instead of inadvertently tearing out some of Danny's hair (he might never forgive her for that) as he drove her higher and higher, a journey that felt like taking the spiraling mountainous road up to the summit of a high peak. Just before he pushed her over the precipice, however, he pulled back, his lean muscular body sliding against hers as he settled atop of her, pressing into her even as she wriggled in mindless libiditude, instinctively seeking the release she'd been narrowly denied.

She should've known better. While Danny Williams was immensely affectionate and attentive by nature, their relationship was one of playful games, of teasing and testing, of give and take. Why would she have expected any less of him in bed? He obviously wasn't going to reward her for just lying there and letting him do all of the work.

Well, invitation to play accepted.

She managed to get a knee up between their bodies, grabbed his shoulders and rolled them, placing herself firmly, wonderfully, atop of the beautifully formed man. _Mm... yum._

She placed her hands on his flat stomach, ran them up his torso, feeling the texture of hair and skin, the twitch of muscle beneath her palms. When she tore her gaze away from the pleasing sight of his naked body, she found that he was staring wolfishly at her. His hands found her neck, fingers tangling into her hair as he pulled her down for a kiss. She relented, but only momentarily, and only because he was so _fucking_ good at it. Must be all the exercise his mouth got, his lips forming expertly around vowels, his tongue deftly elocuting consonants.

He was making that noise in the back of his throat that she'd noticed earlier, one that seemed to be born of mixed pleasure and frustration, that was, if the way his stiff flesh twitching against her backside and his hips jerking beneath her thighs was any indication.

It wasn't an easy thing to do, but Nell tore herself away from the intoxicating rush of the kiss, turning her face away and pushing his shoulders back down to the mattress as he tried to follow her, to keep his lips on hers.

"What?" he said with an exaggerated sigh, throwing his hands up. "Am I not allowed to kiss you anymore?"

"No," Nell said. "You can kiss me when _I_ say you can. You're no longer in charge."

He raised his eyebrows at her, pursed his lips, his slightly kiss-swollen, really, very tempting, lips. Maybe she _would_ kiss his mouth again. Before she had fun with the rest of him. Just one more. She leaned down, sucked at his upper lip, plunged her tongue into his mouth, tasting him once more. He didn't shy away, but he didn't respond in kind to her eager exploration of his mouth. In short, he didn't kiss her back.

 _Good boy_ , Nell thought, as she realized he had indeed been paying full attention to her words, to her instructions. She hadn't given him permission. Oh, he would get her back later. And for having her way this time, she'd willingly submit. But now, now she was in complete control. It was a heady sensation. Maybe it was dangerous, too. But honestly, Nell had never really been allowed to be the dominant partner in a sexual encounter. Assumptions were always made about her personality, expectations about the role she should play in sexual encounters. But fuck that.

Danny knew her better than that.

And he liked to _play_ with her... She briefly wondered how he'd react if she got wicked kinky on him. But not only did she have no desire to do anything truly bizarre to the man, she wasn't exactly prepared to do such a thing. She just wanted to be in charge. She wanted him to submit to her.

And she knew Danny.

Their struggles for dominance, their games, were verbal, cerebral, sometimes emotional. She didn't need leather or whips, or even handcuffs... (although it might be interesting to see the man squirm when he could no longer use his perpetually active hands.) All she needed to do was let him know she wanted to be in control of the situation and he'd surrender to her... Well, with the implication being that he'd get his turn to lead once more. But until then, Nell would make sure he enjoyed himself as much as she did, kissing and caressing his naked body, mapping it in detail for her eidetic memory to recall when their few days were up and they were physically apart once more.

Oh, god, he was an exquisitely well-built man. Firm and trim. And however much tracing the elegant lines of his body with her fingertips, feeling the warmth of his skin, aroused her, it was Danny's barely restrained energy that she found nearly unbearably intoxicating. She was pretty certain he wasn't even aware of how his fingers twitched along her spine even though his hands were loosely placed on her back. Of how he squirmed when she caressed him, or more accurately, when she stopped caressing a certain spot and he instinctively sought more. Of how his eyes sparked and flared, displaying his desire to take control, to take action, to move, because her teasing and playing rendered him just a bit too passive and idle for his liking.

But it wasn't yet time to relent to her lover's need to be in constant motion. Just let the potential energy build a little more.

Nell leaned down, brushing the tips of her breasts against his chest, swallowing down her gasp as her nipples stiffened before she began to kiss a line down his stubble-covered jaw. One of her hands wandered southward as she sucked at his neck, using her teeth a little, wanting to mark him in a way that would linger, a physical reminder that he was hers... at least, that he had been for a while.

Her hand found him, hard and eager as she wrapped her fingers about his twitching length, and he was literally begging her to claim him.

"Please, Nell." His breathless pleading was ridiculously hot. It either made her kinky or cruel -or maybe both- but her thighs were dripping. "You're killin' me here. You've gotta put me out of my misery, babe. Or I'm calling an end to playtime."

She pulled back, a smile twitching her lips as she met his steel blue gaze gone intense yet still facetious.

"Oh, really?" She stroked him, and his hips bucked, thrusting into her firm hold. Hastily, she removed her fingers, making him growl in frustration. Instead she caressed the inside of his thigh. "You're going to stop me from playing?"

One of his hands settled on the back of her neck, blunt, strong fingers gripping her nape. The other squeezed her ass.

"Fuck, yes. You think I can't stick you in the corner for time out anytime I want, Nell Jones?" His husky tone dredged a whimper from deep inside of her. "That I can't push you up against a wall and make you do anything I want? That I couldn't bend you over my knee and spank your gorgeous, round ass?"

 _Oh, fuck._

Instinctively she ground herself against him, attempting to sate the pulling sensation between her thighs. She wanted him. She wanted the stiff, hot, too large length of him buried deep inside of her. She wanted to ride him relentlessly until an orgasm crashed over her so hard that it took her breath away and made her heart skip several beats. But she also wanted to make him beg for her to do precisely that. Because somehow, he'd gained the upper hand. Just by using his inexhaustible mouth. His filthy, beautiful mouth. She took him by surprise, kissing him, plunging her tongue into his damned, delicious, devious mouth, silencing him for a few moments, buying herself just a few moments to think. Well, try to think above the insistent pleas and demands of her over-stimulated body.

She had half a mind to use her mouth on his cock, to lick and nibble at him, to suck him into incoherent pleas for mercy, and then to leave him frustrated at the threshold of completion. Just to punish him for threatening to man-handle her. Okay, untrue. He would never get rough with her unless she asked him to, even then she wondered whether he would, or _could_. But what pissed her off wasn't the threat of it, but the pure and simple fact that he could so easily take control, make her feel and want precisely what _he_ desired her to. Damn him.

 _Fuck_ him.

Yes, please.

She would _fuck_ him. Because she wanted to. Not because he wanted her to. Decision made, Nell pulled back from the kiss, and Danny released her, his hands seeking her hips, seeming to know that she'd finally given in to his pleas, his threats, as she rose up, taking hold of his erect length and pausing momentarily as she felt the exhilarating and terrifying pressure against the narrow entrance to her body. She allowed her hips to sink down several inches before she paused once more, studying the man lying beneath her.

She wouldn't have thought it possible. What with the constant hum that must exist in his brain and his soul, the never-ending thoughts and emotions that seemed to course through the man. But he was lying rather still (for Danny Williams), his eyes heavily lidded as he lazily watched her, a soft, pleased smile on his lips. He seemed to be experiencing a level of contentment Nell thought only reserved for simpler creatures incapable of the worry and cynicism of a man with an overprotective, anxiety-prone nature. Yet his expression resembled quite closely some domesticated animal getting his ears scratched in just the right place. And she supposed he was getting an itch scratched in _just the right place_.

Unsurprisingly, the moment of placidity was fleeting, and Danny's need for perpetual motion seemed to resume, his fingers kneading her hips, his tongue wetting his lips and his eyes opening wide as his whole body squirmed beneath her. She could tell he wanted to thrust up into her, to push deeper, to sweep them off into the culminating dance they'd positioned themselves for. It was more than apparent in his eyes, how he was barely holding back, how he was desperately trying to wait for her to lead.

Danny was unexpectedly patient for a man who was, frankly, extremely emotional and a little bit mercurial. And even more worthy of admiration, he was respectful to her, in every single way. God, he was such a good man. And Nell supposed that he deserved some reward. And so did she, dammit, for being hopelessly in love with him for well over a year and never able to express it, to touch him.

Sinking her hips, she took as much of him inside of her as was physically possible, her breath hitching in her throat and leaving her panting at the stretching sensation that bordered on uncomfortable. Leaning forward, she settled her weight, pinning him to the mattress as best as she could manage.

He moaned, a low rumble in his chest, looking at her with his steel blue eyes that spoke the volume of words that had shockingly seemed to fail to make it to his mouth. The most striking of the emotions she found in his eyes was the raw need, the vulnerability and absolute trust associated with revealing such an untempered emotion. It was a heady rush to satisfy it, almost as intoxicating as the feel of him filling her, sliding in and out of her as she began to move on top of him, generating the exhilarating friction that brought them closer to sweet release with every plunge of her hips.

As the tension built and her pace quickened, Danny no longer seemed capable of letting her command complete control, his comparatively quiet (to his usual verbosity) tolerance of her riding him like a prize stallion snapping.

"Nell, I'm sorry... I can't..." He was breathing heavily, almost as heavily as she was as she felt the orgasm building inside of her, just barely out of reach. "I have to..."

His hands, previously loosely resting upon her hips, tensed, his fingers digging into her flesh with bruising force, and his hips jerked up from the mattress, thrusting in counterpoint to the plunge of her own hips, driving himself painfully deep into her. Her entire body tensed and she cried out, but she wasn't sure if it was fierce pleasure or pain that shot through the core of her as his hips continued to jerk, pounding his hard cock into her relentlessly.

"Oh, fuck," he gasped, and continued to moan incoherent two-word sentences and expletives, interspersed with her name, in obvious coital glee.

But, _Oh, fuck_ was right. He was just too big. At the same time that the penetration, the movement of his staff against her sensitive flesh was pushing her further and further towards what promised to be a spectacular orgasm, it was undeniably painful, stretching her beyond her capacity, ramming too deeply into her, bruising her. Nell tried to lift her hips slightly against his upward thrusts, to regulate the depth of his penetration, but his strong hands pulled her down, forcing her to take nearly all of his impossible length every time, until she reached down with one hand and wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft, and began squeezing him tightly with every thrust.

Danny was moaning quite loudly now, but she couldn't determine the specifics of his words, if they were even more than just mindless cries of pleasure, because the buzzing in her own brain had reached new heights. His cock was hitting her in just the right place, sending waves of pleasure through her, over and over and-

Nell climaxed, the rush of the orgasm seizing her body and flooding her with ecstasy. Her heart did skip several beats and despite screaming her lover's name, she seemed to forget how to breathe. Her hand fell away from the base of Danny's shaft, allowing him to plunge hard and deep with a final thrust that tore through the tight hold her orgasmic muscles had upon him and she felt his release fill her belly with its heat, sending another shudder of pleasure through her before she melted bonelessly to lie atop the spent man's chest, nuzzling his neck and squirming against the aftershocks that persisted to send little jolts through her.

His arms wrapped about her, hugging her tight to him, before his hands began to slowly stroke her back, traveling up and down her spine in rhythm with the gentle rocking of their hips as they both came down from their mutual coital high. He was warm and smelled of sweat, sex and that vaguely tropical aroma perpetually about the man. There was an intriguing sort of purring sound emerging from his chest, part growl, part whimper, and it rumbled through her body snugly pressed to his.

It was beyond blissful.

She cuddled into him, making pleased humming noises in the back of her throat. Oh, god, it was just so perfect. Placing her hands on his chest, she enjoyed the feel of his heart beating beneath her palms for a moment before she pushed herself up to look down into his face, his serenely happy face.

"Please don't say anything," she said, staring down into his sparkling blue eyes. "I don't want you to feel you have to, but I have to say it to you..."

Danny looked at her curiously.

"I love you, Danny Williams. And it's not only because we just had spectacular sex."

Poor baby, he looked generally surprised by such a confession, the notion that she could be in love with him, and not just in it for a good time.

"C'mere, you." He pulled her down, cupping her face and kissing her soundly before hugging her to him once more.

"Oh, you're doing a hell of a number on me, babe," he whispered in her ear. "I am well, and I mean _well_ on my way to being absolutely head-over-heels, totally fucked, in love with you."

Nell sighed in pure contentment as Danny held her close. She couldn't ever remembering feeling so good.

* * *

 **A/N: Honest-to-god, this isn't going to be** _ **all**_ **smut. There are other parts to this story/romance… Even a little bit of action/violence down the road. I promise!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Yes. This is still the primary story in my head (for obvious reasons that I will not admit to). I guess I was lazy, because I just made up some cases instead of going back through and fudging some from the actual series to work with the timeline of this AU-ish fic. But I figure we only see a fraction of our heroes adventures, right?**

* * *

 _ **Six months ago (give or take)...**_

"Someone named Nell called you, like a hundred times," McGarrett said, using his 'I'm actually very curious and slightly amused but I'm not going to let it show' face. "And when she couldn't get ahold of you, she called Five-O. She sounded very worried..."

Danny frowned. He felt bad that he'd caused Nell Jones anxiety. Their odd, long distance acquaintanceship had obviously been progressing to a full-fledged friendship. But he hadn't realized how close they'd become, since it hadn't occurred to him that he could be so close to a person who was physically so far away. But they were _that_ close, weren't they? He thought about how he would've reacted if he'd called or texted her and she hadn't gotten back to him for over a full three days. He probably would've ended up flying to Los Angeles to track her down, since her team was notoriously unreachable, unless you had certain security clearances, which he didn't. The first time he'd gotten in contact with them it had taken three hours of bureaucratic run-around, and even then, they'd wanted to hear from someone like him, with information on a flagged person of interest.

"So, who exactly is Nell Jones?" McGarrett asked when an answer didn't seem to be forthcoming. Danny shifted in the uncomfortable hospital gown and bedding. He hadn't exactly told Steve about her, because there was nothing really to tell... right? And he knew the lecture he'd receive.

" _You? In a long distance relationship?"_

' _It's not a 'relationship.' We're just sort of friends.'_

 _Loaded silence._

" _Okay, so even if you're 'just friends' with this woman -something I'm not sure is within your capabilities-"_

' _Hey. I'm friends with Kono.'_

" _You're 'coworkers' with Kono,_ ohana _. There's a difference. But you're just trying to distract me from the extremely unbelievable revelation that you can sustain a long-distance relationship of any sort."_

' _Why? What's so shocking about that? Just because you have a psychiatrist's field day of social dysfunctions, and I spend a stupid amount of time with you, doesn't mean I've caught your emotional retardation. I still know how to interact with others, even when they're over a thousand miles away.'_

 _Steve snorts._

" _You, my friend, are not capable of maintaining a long distance relationship of any variety simply for the fact that you are a touchy-feely guy."_

' _Touchy-feely?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?'_

" _You need to be in constant physical proximity, if not direct contact, with the people around you. You can't remain sane -not that you are, anyway- without the continual physical reminder that the people you care about are nearby, safe."_

' _Maybe Nell's not that important to me.'_

" _You don't love by halves, Danno."_

Since Danny knew precisely how it would unfold, he'd decided he could just skip it altogether, and never told his best friend about the quirky, brilliant, incredibly cute young woman he'd been -yes, he'd been sort of _dating_ for the past couple of years. But here, Steve had stumbled upon likely the _only_ secret Danny had ever kept from the man, and was staring at him expectantly with his stupidly round and blue eyes.

"Um... Nell Jones works for those NCIS agents, the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles," Danny tried to literally answer his friend's question. This, of course, failed.

"Yeah. She told me all that," he said, leaning forward in the chair he'd pulled up to Danny's bedside. Bar yanking the IV out of his arm and jumping out the window, there was no way he was going to avoid the 'friendly' interrogation Steve appeared bent on performing. He couldn't run for it, not with the stitches holding his side closed where they'd had to cut him open to retrieve the bullet. Because damn the SEAL and his long legs, he'd catch him up rather quickly even when the detective was in peak condition.

"But who is she _to you_ , Danno?" Steve asked.

Danny sighed. There was no use in fighting it, in getting into a long, drawn out argument in a futile attempt to deflect his partner's interest. The man could be worse than a terrier with his teeth sunk into a rat, worrying it into submission or death.

"I'm not entirely sure, okay," Danny threw up his hands in exasperation, a gesture so violent that he felt it in the severed and sutured muscles in his side, causing him to grimace and groan. Steve's eyebrows shot up but he didn't say anything. "We... we had dinner a couple years ago when I helped her people out with the small pox case. It was... it wasn't a date. Not really. But, I have got to tell you that it was the strangest dinner I've ever had. Not necessarily in a _bad_ way, just a _unique_ one."

"What? Did she feed you some weird movie star vegan thing?"

"What?" Sometimes Steve and him could be so in sync. And others... "No. I was talking about our interaction, our conversation, idiot. You know, sharing a meal with a person isn't just about the food. It's about the socialization. The human-to-human interaction. I know that's a difficult concept for you, what with-"

"Danny." Steve's tone clearly stated he was not going to let the detective lead him off topic.

"We've stayed in contact ever since, emails, texts, video-chats... She's unlike anyone I've ever met before." Danny said quietly.

"You should go for it."

"Pardon?"

"Life is too fricken short, Danno. All of the shit you've seen, you should know better than anyone. And you, texting, videochatting? You care about this girl. And she obviously cares about you. So I say go for it. You got nothing to lose."

"But go for what, Steve? She lives on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. It's not like we can date."

"Most people would say you couldn't develop a friendship with that kind of distance, either."

" _Most people_?" Danny scoffed. "You mean people like _you_."

Steve frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Oh, right, that had been the non-existent conversation in his head. Danny sighed, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He was exhausted.

* * *

"Anybody home, Nell-Bell?"

Oh, shit. How long had she been daydreaming? How many times had Detective Deeks said her name, trying to get her attention?

"Hmm?" She said distractedly. Their current case was of no great urgency, a lieutenant in a naval base's bursar's caught embezzling funds. Something generally handed over to the purview of JAG to investigate, rather than NCIS' special operations. But in a post-9/11 world, everything had to be examined with the assumption of terrorism. It wasn't terrorism, of course. But they'd scoured said lieutenant's life nonetheless, surveilling his family, friends, acquaintances, digging through his digital records.

She'd been the one tasked with scouring through the man's PC, reading emails and perusing personal documents, looking through its video and audio files, its photos. Thousands of photos, primarily of his children, watching two daughters grow up, the older one with brown hair and big, expressive eyes, reminding her immensely of the girl she'd had a shockingly comfortable conversation with the previous night...

 _That was odd. There was no answer to her skype call. She was certain they'd made a... a_ date _. (Given her conflicting feelings for the man, Nell avoided using that specific term, although 'appointment' sounded far too formal, clinical even.) And Danny Williams was always punctual, which was why she'd freaked out quite severely last week when he'd never responded to her text. It was just a trivial question, nothing she'd been greatly anticipating. But the way they communicated through texts was basically just long, drawn out conversations, such as they'd have over the course of dinner, coffee or a beer, only taking hours or all day for the other person's reply, because, well, their lives were busy, hectic much of the time. But there was always a response before the day was out._

 _But not last week._

 _Because Danny had been hospitalized due to a somewhat serious gunshot wound, had been in surgery for several hours and then was pretty much out of it for the next couple of days. It hadn't been a coma per se, but Nell had seen her fellow agents through several serious injuries, and the human body tended to sleep it off, conserving energy for the massive undertaking of healing. So it wasn't any wonder that he hadn't responded to her. But with her overactive mind, she had of course begun to fear he was dead. And no one would know to inform her, being just a pen pal, really. Ultimately, after an entirely sleepless night, she'd had no choice but to call the detective's taskforce, simply because she could not function with such a high level of anxiety. Steve McGarrett had given her a brief report, obviously hesitant to divulge too much about his best friend to someone he'd never met (or even heard of, Nell sadly surmised). The SEAL had sounded a little worried, but not enough to make Nell believe he was glossing over the severity of Danny's injuries._

 _Half a day later, Danny finally responded to her text, replying to the trivial question she had asked and didn't even remember, rather than discussing the fact that he'd nearly died. He must have known that she knew. Nell doubted that Steve McGarrett_ wouldn't _tell his partner that she had called, if only for the potential fodder for teasing. Not to mention that the commander hadn't known who she was at all, so he must be curious given everything Danny told her about the man's nature._

 _Nell had been too stressed over the past few days, had been forced to face some feelings she hadn't known she possessed. Okay, maybe that was a lie. How could she not have known that she'd been falling in love with Danny Williams? What with how she looked forward to their videochats, to seeing his lively eyes and beautiful smile. How her mood was instantly lifted when her phone notified her she'd received a text from him. How she thought of him first when something happened in her life that she wanted to share with someone. How she had to fight with herself not to refer to his life, his stories, his personality or anecdotes when in the midst of daily conversations with her friends or family. Or not to interject in a mission briefing that the Five-O taskforce dealt with something similar, offering what their solution had been. He'd become a feature in her life. And there'd been absolutely no way she was going to feign having no knowledge of the fact that she'd almost lost him._

 _Part of her didn't want to have the conversation face to face or even over the phone, which would allow him to hear or see her emotional turmoil. But then what? They'd just continue on like they had been? The fact that she'd admitted to herself her feelings no longer permitted that option. It would drive her insane to not let him know. She'd rather live with his rejection, then she could come to terms with the fact that he wasn't interested in her in_ that _way and maybe then they could go on being long distance friends._

 _And so maybe that was why he wasn't answering her call tonight. He'd seen how upset she'd been by his near-death experience, the serious emotions driving such a reaction, and hadn't known how to ease her down gently, how to deal with feelings he didn't return. Before she could wallow any further, prepare to cry her heart out and move on with her life, the videochat window popped open and Danny's smiling face appeared. His expression sobered somewhat, but his eyes were still alight. Obviously he was in a good mood._

Uh, hey, Nell. I'm sorry I almost forgot. Grace wanted to spend the night with her old man, look after him while he convalesces, and Rachel agreed, so we're having a movie night.

 _"Oh," Nell said, smiling back. She should've been disappointed that they weren't going to be able to talk, but she knew how much Danny loved his daughter, lamented the little time he got to spend with the pre-teen girl, so she was genuinely happy that she was being ditched for Grace. "Well, that's okay then. We can do this another-"_

 _Danny's attention was obviously pulled off screen._

Hey, monkey, are you burning the popcorn?

 _Grace's response was primarily incoherent, coming from another room._

C'mere, babe. _Danny called to his daughter, then he was getting up and there was a shuffle of pixely motion._ Say 'hi' to Nell while I save the popcorn.

 _And then Nell found herself face to face with Grace Williams, a girl she'd heard so much about but had never talked to before, had never expected to, what with the extremely protective nature of her father._

Hi, _the twelve year old said shyly._

 _"Hi," Nell said, smiling. The girl obviously took after her mother with dark hair and dark eyes. Yet there was something very much Danny in the way she studied the person introduced to her over the internet. "I'm Nell."_

I'm Grace.

 _"I can tell," Nell said. "You definitely live up to the name."_

Thanks. _The girl's initial timidity seemed to wan, her wary, scrutinizing_ Williams Look _softening. Apparently, Nell had met with some form of approval, at least for a conversation to develop._ I wish I was more graceful. I take gymnastics and cheerleading, but I'm always messing up, tripping over my own feet.

 _"That's only because you're still growing," Nell said. "I think I was my present height at your age." Nell lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Has your father admitted yet that you're going to be taller than him?"_

 _Grace seemed to mirror Nell's body language, instinctively leaning in closer to the computer screen as gossiping girls would put their heads together in person._

I'm only a _five_ inches shorter than him. He stands on his tiptoes when he hugs me.

 _They burst into giggles, sending Nell into nostalgia for the days when she and her sister were about Grace's age._

And what are you ladies chatting about? _Danny had reentered the room, and Grace scooted over as he tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and then leaned down into the laptop's camera frame, chewing and grinning, looking from the web image of Nell to his daughter and back again._ It better not be about boys. My baby girl is about twenty years too young for that.

It wasn't, Danno. _Apparently the twelve-year old had already mastered the teenage eye roll. Nell fought the smile this time, for Danny's sake as he looked at his daughter with exasperated affection._

 _"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Nell said. "I enjoyed talking with you Grace."_

You, too, Nell, _she said._ Maybe we can videochat again sometime.

 _"I'd like that." Now Nell was still grinning broadly as she ended the call. She had met Grace (more or less) and even seemed to meet with the girl's approval._

Nell knew how important his daughter was to Danny Williams, that the girl was _the_ center of his world. And so at first, she'd felt all warm and bubbly inside that she and Grace had shared a little joke and a laugh. But then something began to niggle at the back of her mind.

Why had Danny introduced them? He was so very overprotective. And she knew that, like her, he hadn't exactly been telling friends and family about their strange little long distance... whatever it was. Friendship, Nell had always liked to think, but then neither of them would be keeping it so secret, like they were a little bit sensitive about receiving criticism for it.

"Where you been all morning?"

Nell blinked again, blushed furiously. Normally, she was a multi-tasking queen. But a certain blonde detective had her mind in a whirl, and was currently distracting her from another blonde detective looking to her for answers.

"Just... Thinking about a conversation I had with a friend last night," she said.

"Must have been some conversation," Deeks said, apparently as uninterested in the case as Nell herself felt.

Nell shrugged. "Nothing important. So... I've combed through about 77.4% of Whittaker's hard drive, and-"

"It can't be that unimportant if it had you so distracted, Nellie. Because I know you're a multi-tasking machine and the consummate professional."

Nell gave him a look to see if he was being sarcastic. Their office was notoriously unprofessional, after all.

"The only data I found pertinent to the embezzlement case is a couple of email statements from a bank account in the Cayman's. I'm already..." She tried to change the subject again, but the detective's eyes seemed to glaze over.

"What's your friend's name? Is she in some kind of trouble? The kind of trouble a chivalrous LAPD detective might be able to help her out from? Is she hot?"

That was Deeks way of covering his actual, legitimate concern, acting piggish to hide the fact that he was worried about his team mate. But it was a little odd that he suddenly seemed so interested in Nell's personal life. She loved them all dearly, but none of the rest of the team seemed to care all that much about who she was, or her life outside of work. Although, that being said, Deeks was undeniably the one who was the closest to her... Besides Eric, of course (But that hadn't been entirely by her choice).

Nell sighed, resigning herself to discussing an issue she'd hoped to keep private. Or maybe it was only because she had never permitted herself to share her... _crush?_ on the Jersey-Hawaiian detective, that she'd decided that she wouldn't be able to talk about her current conundrum with any of her friends.

"That's so wrong, Shaggy," she said, putting her tablet down and looking up into the blue eyes fixed on her face with open curiosity. She still called him Shaggy sometimes, mostly during these 'we're sort of friends' moments, in memory of when they were briefly partners. Don't get her wrong, Nell was ecstatic that they'd recovered Kensi, safe and sound. But she really missed being out in the field, to the point where she was almost ready to ask Hetty what she'd done wrong, to be condemned to ops again.

"Why is it wrong that I should want to help out the lady friend of one of my lady friends?" He grinned his ridiculous lewd grin, which on almost anyone else would be skeevy as hell.

"Well, because technically there were two people I talked to last night," Nell said. "One was a twelve year old girl."

"Oh-kay, that is a little bit creepy. But is her mom hot?"

Nell rolled her eyes in mock disgust, but inwardly battled some laughter, saying, "I don't know. Probably. But the other person I talked to was her father. He is kind of hot, though. I don't think he swings that way, but if you'd like to give it a try next time he's in town, I'll let him know you're interested."

Nell debated whether she should reveal to the detective the identity of her secret friend, but remembering how the two men with similar personalities had clashed upon first meeting a couple years ago, she opted not to give any names.

"Ha-Ha, Nell-Bell," Deeks said. "But seriously, what's going on with this girl and her dad, that's got you so preoccupied?"

"Oh, nothing bad." Nell was feeling guilty now, and more than a little ashamed for inadvertently making a big, dramatic deal out of nothing. "They're fine. Everything's fine. It's just..."

Deeks cocked his head, his eyebrows raised in an eager expression of encouragement.

"Just...?" He prodded when she didn't complete her thought.

Okay. Fine. It was time to share. Just share it and maybe feel better, less confused and distracted.

"I'd never met his daughter before I talked to her last night."

Deeks gave her a confused look. Right. He had no idea what Danny Williams was like where his little girl was concerned.

"She's the most important thing in the world to him. And he's very protective of her, careful about introducing...um.."

"His lady friends?" Deeks said, realization dawning upon the detective.

"Yeah," Nell said. "I mean 'no'. I mean... We're not anything more than... I don't know..."

"I can see why you've been distracted," he said. "You're over-thinking things. We -men- aren't that complicated. If you want to know how he feels, just ask."

Nell blanched. She couldn't do that. Could she? God, she just should.

"What is it, Nellie?" Deeks asked.

"Even if he _did_ feel the same way I do..." Nell very, very briefly allowed herself to entertain such a wonderful notion. "It wouldn't work."

"Why not?" Deeks seemed genuinely interested, a little empathetic even. But she could see why, what with his own unnecessarily complicated relationship with his partner, Kensi Blye.

"It would be a rather long distance relationship," Nell said. "And those never work out."

"But you've managed to...um... develop... um..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Even Deeks, who was by far more expressive than the others, had issues with talking seriously about things like " _feelings_ for this guy?"

An unexpected lump in her own throat caused Nell only to nod, blushing more fiercely than ever. She was so embarrassed by her naive schoolgirl crush. It was silly of her. Loving a boy from afar like the nerdy girl staring at the quarterback across the lunchroom. Without even the nerve to pass him a note... Only they _had_ been passing notes, back and forth... for years. And if she were a teenage girl asked to name her BFF, she would undeniably say it was Danny. She'd lost touch with her old college friends, even her siblings were currently like distant cousins to her. And the people she saw every day didn't understand her, didn't seem to want to... Except she had to admit that this little tête-à-tête was extremely sweet of Deeks (even if might only be away to avoid work the detective found tedious).

"Are you afraid he might not feel the same?" Deeks asked in a small voice, an oddity for the in-your-face jovial man. Nell knew it was because he'd gone through precisely the same thing, unrequited love, tip-toeing around emotions, afraid to jeopardize the relationship that existed just for the chance at a romantic one.

"Yes," Nell said. "And he's the best friend I've had in ages..." Deeks raised his eyebrows in mock hurt. "No, offense, of course… You're the best partner I've ever had."

"Damn straight," he said with a smile. "Wait, what about Eric?"

Nell shrugged. During that brief time when she and Deeks were partnered, she'd explained a little bit about her strange, somewhat involuntary friendship with the resident nerd. And no, it wasn't that he was a nerd that bothered her. Hell, she was one, too. It was more the jealously and possessiveness that he had no right to.

"If you ever tell him I said so, I will destroy you, and you know I can," Nell said with a teasing grin, despite the fact that it was more than a little true... at least cyberly speaking. "But you, Marty Deeks, are my favorite."

"Aw, thanks, Nell-Bell. I like you, too." Deeks gave her a wink, before sobering as much as she'd ever seen him outside of a life-or-death situation. "And I think you should go for it. Believe me, it's worth the risk if even there's a chance they might return your feelings... Besides, how could any guy not _love_ you?"

A lifetime of self-esteem issues shoved down into a dark hole and covered up with false bravado and confidence boiled up, making her blush what she knew must be an intense shade of pink.

"Thanks, Deeks." She picked up the tablet, and hastily delved back into the case.

* * *

 **A/N: Not sure why, but Deeks seemed the best choice to be a friend to Nell here. Eric is too focused on his stupid crush on her, and the others don't really seem to care about her as a person, especially in the past season, so… I guess he was the only choice.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thanks to those of you still reading this, and especially to those who take the time to review. I'm glad someone is getting some enjoyment out of this, although it is honestly designed mostly for my own entertainment… :-)**

* * *

 _ **Six Months later...**_

Nell had barely engaged the deadbolt and turned around, before finding herself backed brusquely against the door, a deft, intimately familiar hand shoved up under her skirt and greedy lips claiming hers.

"Danny," she whimpered against his mouth, having to repeat his name several times before she achieved the tone required to cause him to temporarily break off the kisses, but not the attention of his hand running low over her belly, tracing the waistband of her panties.

"We just got here," she said, trying to ignore her own fierce desire to have the detective inside of her once more. "Don't you want to have the tour first?"

"I've already taken the tour," Danny said, his voice husky and intense. "And I already know the sights I want to visit again."

He nipped at her throat, and she obliging leaned her head back against the door, giving him further access, and moaning lightly as his stubble-lined chin scraped against her skin.

"I meant a tour of my apartment," she managed to say, as his hand slipped into the soft cotton fabric of her underwear, his obscenely skilled fingers beginning to do a little of their magic.

"It can wait," Danny said, pulling back to look her in the eyes with his steely blue gaze, all untempered desire. "I, however, cannot."

Shifting his hands to her hips, he held her still, pressing into her, making her feel the serious state of his arousal.

"I've taken some uncomfortable rides in planes before, but that was one hell of a long flight, not being able to touch you. It was all I could do not to try to talk you into joining the mile-high club."

Nell laughed.

"What?" Danny gave her a critical look, like she'd accused him of lying about how sexually frustrated he'd been for the past seven or so hours.

"One: I highly doubt that was the worst plane ride you've ever had. I've heard the stories about your adventures with Steve McGarrett."

The blonde man shrugged, silently conceding her point, so she continued.

"Two: You touched me plenty on that flight. I recall removing a certain paw from my thigh on eight separate occasions."

"I was just resting my hand on your leg. Plenty of couples do that. It's perfectly acceptable behavior."

 _Couple?_ His word choice gave her a pleased tingle, but she wasn't about to let him get away with his lame excuse.

"Perhaps it's acceptable for a guy to rest his hand upon his girlfriend's leg in public situations, but _not_ beneath her skirt with his fingers caressing her inner thigh."

His grin informed her that he knew he'd been entirely in the wrong, but had loved every minute of it.

"And three... What makes you think I'm not _already_ a member of the mile-high club?"

"Oh?" He feigned shock, grinning all the while, his hands rocking her hips against his. "I think I need details if I'm gonna believe that you're some kind of naughty pixie."

She snaked her hands around his waist, skimmed them down over his delectably round, firm ass.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said, giving him a squeeze and rubbing herself suggestively against him, making him groan a little.

"Or a demonstration would also do nicely," he said, rucking her skirt up and reaching for his fly.

"Oh!" All of the air in her lungs fled in a sharp gasp as the lascivious blonde detective deftly freed his arousal, pulled the crotch of her underwear to the side, expertly found his target and thrust swiftly into her. She punched him, driving a knuckle into his chest right above his heart, making him give a startled cry.

"Ow! What the hell, Nell?" She noted that he didn't let go of her. But neither had she pushed him away. Rather, she'd lifted her left leg, wrapping it about his waist and one of his strong hands had grabbed her thigh to support her, pulling them closer to one another.

"Give a girl a little warning." Nell squirmed against the abrupt penetration. She supposed she hadn't been explicitly clear. And maybe he'd just thought she was flattering his ego when she'd mentioned that he was large before.

"I thought I had," he said.

"What? making lewd comments?" She wriggled, feeling his stiff flesh shift inside of her, the tension of her inner muscles releasing slightly. Danny sucked in a sharp breath as she sought a more comfortable position, but apparently he wasn't about to let their strange mid-coital argument go.

"Generally shoving a hand down a ladies' panties and playing with her pussy is a big indicator of a man's intentions."

Nell sighed.

"I'll give you that," Nell said. "It was just a little too fast for me, since you know..."

She reached down, grabbed the length of him he hadn't managed to shove into her, gave him a little squeeze. He groaned, his palms hitting the door on either side of her head as he panted.

Perhaps that hadn't been the best way to ensure he understood her.

"Look at me, Danny."

His blue eyes fixed on her hazel ones. Although, they were more black, dilated pupil than slate blue iris.

"I wasn't just talking dirty when I called you ridiculously large. You _are_ too big for me to easily accommodate."

"I've really been hurting you?" His expression was pained, and Nell could tell it was not just because he was rather sexually frustrated at the moment, as she held him immobile with the firm grip of her hand, preventing him from moving, from pounding her into the door. Not that he would do that now, judging by his reaction to her revelation.

"No," Nell said. "Well, yes, a little. But it's worth it. You make me feel amazing, too, Danny. We just need to take things a little slower sometimes."

He swallowed, nodded, took her face in his hands, and she released him to place her own hands on his shoulders. His thumbs stroked her jaw before he kissed her, gently.

"I'm sorry, Nell."

And then he was pulling away from her, pulling out of her.

No. That was _not_ was she wanted.

Grabbing his ass before he'd completely withdrawn from her body, she tugged him closer, forcing his yet stiffened cock a little deeper.

He groaned again.

"Finish what you've started, detective," she said, using a commanding tone she previously had never dared employ in sexual encounters. But Danny Williams was truly the best lover she'd ever had, if only for the respect he gave her, treating her as an equal in bed. Not to mention all the other things, such as his skilled hands and mouth, and the way he could bring her to orgasmic heights she'd never dreamt of before. How comfortable she was with him, how she could be herself, tell him precisely what she wanted, needed.

"You sure, babe?" He stroked her cheek studying her face momentarily.

"Oh, god, yes." Okay, not so sexy and confident. It was a whine, really, but dear lord, there was a desperate tingling sensation low and deep in her belly begging for the relief only the sweet friction of his body against hers, inside of hers, could provide.

And he did give her precisely what she asked for, at first moving slowly, tentatively until apparently reassured by her encouraging moans of pleasure -or by his own building need for release- he began to pound her into the door with a creaking of wood and its metal hinges, and their embarrassingly loud sex noises. Later, Nell would find herself wondering whether anyone had been in the hallway during their shamefully loud interlude, and hoping that her neighbors hadn't heard.

* * *

"Mmm... We probably shouldn't spend the entire time you're here in bed," Nell said, nuzzling the warm skin of her lover's neck as he made those waking sounds of his that resembled more than anything a cat's purr.

"We haven't," Danny said, his fingers dancing a line up her spine and playing with her extremely ruffled hair. "By my recollection, we've thoroughly enjoyed the living room, put your shower to the test, and made a good go of the kitchen, too."

Nell laughed, somehow blushing as she remembered precisely all the instances to which he was referring. At this point, one would think she'd be beyond blushing. Especially while in Danny's company alone.

"Don't you want to see any of the 'sights'?" she asked, placing her palms against his chest and pushing herself up to look down into his face, her hair falling like a curtain between them until he swiped it away, tucking the auburn locks behind her ear, letting his fingers trail down her neck.

"I'm lookin' at the most beautiful thing Los Angeles has to offer," he said, before grinning his 'aren't I charming' grin.

"We could go for a walk on the beach, enjoy the sun and ocean..." Nell said, knowing what his response would be to that. Oddly, it was one she shared. The fair-skinned young woman from rural Maine could care less about sandy beaches and the blazing sun. Give her hundreds of acres of trees, or if the ocean was necessary, one in which the sea crashed against rocky shores and the fog rolled in thicker than pea soup.

"Or instead of being fried by the sun whilst surrounded by hundreds of ocean-loving maniacs and crowds of boardwalk shoppers and sideshows, we could stay cozied up right where we are. You see, the benefits are manifold..." He punctuated his points with kisses to her cheeks, the tip of her nose, her lips. "No crazies. No deleterious sun. And best of all, we don't have to put pants on."

Nell laughed. "What is with men and going pantless... like it's the ideal state of being or something."

"It isn't?" Danny smirked and rocked his hips beneath her thighs as if trying to prove the point with the instantly intoxicating friction. Nell managed to confine the moan to her throat, but her reaction did not go unnoticed by the man grinning smugly up at her.

When she finally managed to fight down the dizzying wave of lust, she pinned her lover with a stern, unamused gaze. But damn the man, he could see right through her, all the various masks she donned to help her deal with life's many situations. He grinned. He had such a beautiful smile and expressive face... Desire gripped her once more, but this time it was with the overwhelming urge to kiss those smirking lips.

"Fine," she said, leaning in to give him a quick peck. Even the brief contact... _yum_. "Pantlessness is perfectly acceptable in _certain_ situations."

She kissed him, a little lengthier and deeper, giving him the time to respond and suck gently on her upper lip.

"Such as..." He tried to prompt her with a lewd sparkle in his blue eyes. Nell rolled her own hazel ones. She should've never talked dirty to him in the first place, for he now seemed perpetually intrigued... or aroused, as it were, by the notion.

Nell lowered herself until nearly every inch of her was pressed against the wonderfully firm and beautifully formed body beneath hers, chest to chest, stomach to stomach, thigh to thigh. Danny moaned.

"God, woman, you've got nonverbal communication down to a fuckin' art."

Nell smiled as she placed a line of kisses from his throat down his chest, tonguing his right nipple before tugging at it with her teeth, making him groan and squirm beneath her, until finally he put an end to her increasingly aggressive attentions by rolling them so that she was pinned beneath him. She gave him her best big-eyed innocent look.

"You, babe, are unbelievable," he said, chuckling and shaking his head as she grabbed for his bare ass, all the while batting her eyelashes at him in the naive, 'delicate flower' manner.

"Thank you," she said smugly, sinking her fingernails into the deliciously firm swell of his buttocks... just a little, enough to make him buck his hips against hers, his hands sharply finding her wrists, causing his full, unsupported weight to press her into the mattress as he pinned her hands above her head.

"That wasn't a compliment, you _incorrigible little pixie_ ," he said, staring into her with slate blue eyes gone dark with lust. Fuck, she could be just minutes post-orgasm, she could be still coming down from an ecstatic high, and find herself wanting him, pining for his body, his touch as if she never before had possessed it, all devastating anticipation and yearning. If she could make him feel even a fraction of that heady mixture of frustration and satisfaction, then she'd be immensely pleased with herself.

"You like it, and you know it, _Detective Williams_."

He kissed her, and not at all tenderly. Rather it was greedy, filled with want and need that ran bone deep, deeper, to the bottom of the soul.

"I don't know how I'm going to leave you tomorrow, Nell," he said quietly between panted breaths. "I want to be with you every day."

"I want that, too," she said, wrapping her arms and legs about him, arching her back to press against him, embrace him with as much skin-on-skin contact she could obtain. "Make love to me, until we have to say 'goodbye'."

And he did just that.

* * *

"You already feelin' jet-lagged, Danno?"

"Hmmfh?!" Danny forced his eyes open, startled by his partner's voice, having not even realized he'd fallen asleep, his head leaning against the passenger window of his camaro. Steve had insisted on picking him up at the airport, which had at first aggravated the detective, until he realized he did indeed miss his partner, which aggravated him further, until he actually arrived and was so exhausted the idea of driving home sounded more like being sentenced to serve ten years hard labor (not that that was a thing anymore).

"How was... uh... Nell?" Steve asked, glancing over at Danny, who wasn't buying his ignorant act in the least. Right, like the man had difficulty remembering Nell's name, like he wasn't insanely curious about Danny's liaison with the young woman.

"Real subtle, babe," Danny said, and then did everything he could to combat a yawn and failed.

"Hey, I'm just worried that my partner has been seduced by a succubus or something."

"Succubus?!" Now that they were in the beginning stages of a full-fledged cargument, the adrenaline had started flowing and Danny was feeling more awake by the second.

"Yeah... _succubus_ ," Steve began gesturing with his free hand, something Danny was secretly amused to see develop in his friend over the years. He only wished he'd influenced the SEAL in more ways than that... such as _common sense_. Unfortunately, the opposite seemed true in that regard.

"You know..." Steve continued, "Sucks the life out of men through... well, uh, _sex_."

Danny laughed at the idea of Nell as some demon creature. Granted, he'd spent an extremely -blissfully- draining few days with the young woman. And she could be just as wild in bed as sweet and tender. But no one was being taken advantage of in the relationship. At least, he knew he wasn't. And he most definitely wasn't trying to take advantage of the amazing young woman. In fact, he'd been surprised at how compatible they were, how equally matched, holding nothing back, sharing thoughts and feelings, desires without reserve.

"You don't have to worry," Danny said. "Nell would never hurt me. She's the sweetest creature ever to walk the face of the earth."

Steve's eyebrows shot up.

"Wow. You really care about this girl," he said. "Dare I use the L word?"

Danny wet his lips. "I don't know if I'm a complete goner yet, Steve. But yeah, she's easy to love."

"So when do I get to meet her?"

"Uh..." Danny chewed the inside of his cheek. Nell had been his, and his alone for so long... He sort of liked keeping her in that part of his mind, his heart, where she had her own place without anything else bleeding in. But, he had already introduced her to Grace, more or less, and his daughter had clearly taken to the young woman. In fact, Danny more than a little suspected that Nell and Grace carried on their own exchange of texts, which admittedly made him a little nervous.

"Really, Danny?" Steve said, giving him a judgmental look before returning his attention to the road and continuing with his high-horse tirade. "By all accounts, this is a great girl. You obviously are in love with her. But you're going to do the thing where you keep her at arm's length, out of some screwed up attempt to protect yourself, when really your reluctance to just let someone in is what ends up hurting you in the end."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dial back the hostility, Dr. Phil."

"Hostility? This is not me being hostile. You know what it's like when I'm being hostile. I just don't wanna see you jeopardize this chance at happiness." Steve's voice became significantly quieter. "You deserve it buddy."

"While you are being uncommonly sensitive to my feelings at the moment, which makes me highly suspicious about what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself -and subsequently, me- into while I was away, your concern is unfounded, Steven."

"Unfounded? Really?" Despite how much he flinched and vocalized a fear of dying while in a high speed pursuit with his partner behind the wheel, Danny actually was quite confident in his partner's driving skills. But even so, the way the man was staring incredulously at him was disconcerting to the detective. Especially since Danny was right in his assertions. He wasn't hiding from this thing. He was well aware that he was falling in love with Nell. And he'd thrown all of his reserves over pursuing a relationship with the young woman out the window.

"Yes." Danny glared back. "My hesitation in answering your inquiry about your possibly meeting _my_ girlfriend was due to the fact that we both work for insane people, fighting criminals who don't keep to a 9 to 5 schedule."

Steve raised an eyebrow in his direction, but the tension in shoulders seemed to melt. Why the big man seemed to get as worked up about Danny's personal life and emotional well-being as he did about chasing down a murderer, was beyond the detective. But it was sweet. He still held that Steve McGarrett was gooey on the inside.

"Oh," the big, overprotective idiot said.

"And after this outburst, I'm not sure I _want_ to subject her to the likes of you," Danny said with a smile.

"Fine," Steve said, mock hurt forming a pout on his face.

"Although..." Danny laughed. "I gotta admit, Nell Jones could probably handle _you_ quite easily."

This earned the detective a surprised and then intrigued look from his partner.

"You really think that?"

"Not that you're all that complicated a Neanderthal," Danny said, wary of that look in his friend's eyes, the one that generally appeared when a challenge was being issued. "But yes. She'd have your complete psychological profile analyzed in under a minute. And then, if she were a cruel person, she would be able to destroy you, with probably less than ten words.

"Not that she would," Danny amended what must now seem like a portrait of a true demon-woman he'd created. "Because, like I said, Nell is the sweetest creature to ever walk the face of the earth."

But alas, damage done, Steve had that determined look he got when he'd sunk his teeth into a case. There would be no dissuading him now that his curiosity was piqued.

"Oh, now I really want to meet this woman," he said, confirming Danny's fears. Poor Nell, if she ever did find the time to make it out to the Island, it certainly wouldn't be the vacation she'd expect, not with Danny's ' _ohana_ ', consisting of surfing cops with ninja skills and Mr. Navy-SEAL-that-Rambo-wishes-he-could-be-in-his-wildest-dreams. Grace was wonderful, though. He'd have to count on his adorable monkey to win Nell over.

Or he could just kidnap the young woman directly from the airport, whisk her away to a hotel room, and keep her so disoriented with orgasms that before she realized it, it was time to take her back to the airport, successfully avoiding his insane friends. Although, if he recalled the group of people that Nell worked with... She'd probably like Five-O quite a bit.

Danny smiled as he realized that Nell just might be the perfect fit for him in _every_ way... except for living on the other side of the ocean.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so Nell sounds all perfect here (a little sickeningly so), but Danny is quite smitten, so of course he's talking her up to his best friend…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Okay, so I had a certain stopping point in mind for this chapter, but it kept getting longer and longer and longer… so I decided to break it up into more manageable chunks, which also means you won't have to wait forever for an update.**

* * *

 ** _Five weeks later..._**

Nell tried to be courteous, what with the three hour time difference and their insane schedules, and only call Danny at what would be considered _civilized_ hours for him, which often meant some torturous waiting if she were eager to talk to him, to see his beautiful, expressive face -which she missed so fiercely at times that it was a physical ache in her chest. Yet, to be perfectly honest, she sort of relished the rare excuse to call him in the morning before she went into work and wake him up. She never squandered the opportunity, always made sure she called him via a videochat service. Because, _oh god_ , a just-rolled-out-of-bed Danny Williams was a _deliriously delectable_ sight. His normally obsessively kempt hair was in disarray, ruffled and sticking out in places, the dark blonde stubble on his chin just a little thicker, making him scruffy and oh-so-yummy. And if she were very lucky, if it were a deep sleep she'd jarred him from, he might even forget to throw a shirt on, letting her eyes feast upon his bare torso, his toned arms and trim chest and stomach, remembering the feel of his skin beneath her fingers, the shape of his body, the surprisingly soft curls of hair covering his chest and trailing down his stomach.

Still, she couldn't let such selfish needs be the cause of trouble for him. She worried about him. How could she not? Even knowing that his complaints about his partner were superficial, that Steve McGarrett got Danny into some pretty dangerous situations, but the SEAL had his best friend's back no matter what, that he would do everything in his rather impressive abilities to keep the detective safe. But even so, if Danny got hurt because he was too tired, because she'd disturbed the full night's sleep he needed to stay alert... No. She couldn't lose him. Not now. She needed him.

And she needed to talk to him. Right _now._ Sleeping on it, waiting for some revelation hadn't worked.

His voice was gravelly when he answered her call, and the sound of it stirred up a different kind of need. And god, he'd also neglected to put on a shirt. She tried to focus on his face, which thankfully filled up the screen as he moved closer to the laptop's camera. Except his slate blue eyes always did it for her, too. The affection his image conjured in her was a physical reaction, a pulling sensation, a longing deep in her belly, which was wholly inappropriate given, well, _everything_.

/What's wrong?/

Was it that apparent on her face?

"I need to tell you something, Danny."

The grogginess was leaving his expression, replaced by concern.

/Are you alright, Nell? What is it?/

"I... I had a doctor's appointment yesterday."

It was an extreme rarity, and all the more unsettling for it, when Danny said nothing, just looked at her, his blue eyes wide and worried.

"A...uh... medication I'm on was recalled."

/Recalled? It.. it didn't give you cancer or something?"

"Something," Nell said, finding it difficult to tell him even though he seemed quite worried about her. His look of concern was transformed to one of confusion. _Just, just do it._ "And technically, it didn't give it to me. _You_ did."

He frowned, his brow furrowing.

/Nell, I never lied to you. I couldn't have given you the pox or plague or-/

"Danny, it was my birth control. There was a defective batch, missing one of the active chemicals..." She caught herself before she fell into a full rambling, unnecessary exposition of the facts that had her in a near panic-attack. "Long story short, I'm pregnant."

Relief. Instant relief, like she'd shed the massive weight off her shoulders that had been crushing her into the ground, one that she'd been carrying since the doctor informed her of the results of the initial pregnancy test they'd run. She'd asked how accurate the test was, surreally calm even though she was freaking out inside. Apparently, pretty goddamned accurate. But they were running a blood test, too, which maybe she should've waited for its confirmation, but she was a buzzing swarm of nerves inside. And the look on Danny's face was enough to silence her worries, calm her nerves, lift the oppressive weight.

Because he broke out into the biggest, most stunning of smiles she'd ever seen, on her lover's face or any other's.

"Are you serious?" he asked, trying to school his beaming grin and failing entirely. "I mean, you're certain you're having my baby?"

"It couldn't be anyone else's, Danny," Nell said, feeling a little hurt that he'd suggest such a thing, until she saw the alarm on his face.

"That's not what I meant, babe. Not at all. I'm sorry. I'm a doofus sometimes. It's just you've really caught me off guard. But I suppose that's how you've been feeling, since you never expected to get knocked up. And god, how do you feel about this? Are you okay? Did they run a blood test yet? Or do a sonogram?"

Nell was smiling, too, by the time the father of the baby growing inside of her completed his typically verbose monologue, replete with exaggerated hand motions.

"They only did a urine test," she said. "So it could be a false alarm. But I only found out yesterday at my appointment that my birth control was part of the recalled batch. The blood test results will be back in a week or so."

The nurse said she'd turned quite pale, which Nell had never thought would be noticeable on her already extremely fair complexion. But admittedly, she'd gone suddenly very light-headed and had to lie down. To prevent a full-blown panic attack in one of their patients, the doctor had offered to perform the hCG test immediately so that Nell would know one way or the other. But a secondary confirmation just to be sure would erase any doubts.

Five weeks pregnant. The quick urine test was not specific at all. But she could've told the doctor the date she'd conceived, narrowed to a range of three days. It was the only sexual encounter she'd had in going on two years. And if her life had to include an accidental pregnancy, then of the handful of lovers she'd had, Danny Williams was by far her first choice to be the one to knock her up. Which was a bit of a lie. Because he wasn't just her first choice of the half-dozen men she'd slept with in her life, but of all the men she'd ever met. Frankly, he was her first choice of all the men in the world, her _only_ choice.

Or maybe it wasn't a choice at all... It was Danny. It would always be Danny.

"Are you...uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck, gave her that rare little boy timid look, apparently made uncertain by they way she'd turned silent and contemplative. "...Are you happy, Nell?"

Was she?

She felt the smile curving her mouth, placed a hand on her still flat stomach, studying it but not detecting the nascent life within her. Looking up she was met by Danny's gorgeous eyes like blue steel, and his attractive, expressive face, all gentleness and affection.

"Yes. I'm happy." Suddenly, inexplicable anxiety gripped her. "Are you happy? I mean, about having a baby with me?"

"I'm not sure it's fully sunk in yet," Danny said. "But, yes, I'm happy. I never thought I'd have another kid. Not that I wanted one. I mean, not that I didn't want one, don't want this one. It's just that Grace-"

"-is enough," Nell finished for the normally eloquent but currently out-of-sorts detective. Why would waking him up in the early hours of the morning in order to spring shocking, life-altering news upon him leave him anything but discombobulated? "I know how much you love her. You're a good father, Danny. And, honestly, knowing that is helping me not to freak out so badly."

Danny nodded. How much had the world beaten him down that the man just didn't seem to know how to take genuine compliments? Well, Nell knew precisely the kind of rocky, painful journey his heart had been subjected to, that even now that he was in a good place, with friends that were closer than family, a good relationship with his pre-teen daughter, and possessing Nell's love (at least she hoped that he considered that a good thing), he was always anticipating heart ache.

"Whatever you need, Nell," he said. "Just ask. I'll be there. Foot rub. Back rub. Pickles and ice cream. A pizza from Ray's. I'll travel halfway across the world and back to bring it to you."

Nell smiled. "I know you would. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. It's still early yet."

Danny, having gone through the childbirth process previously must know as well as her that 30% of pregnancies ended in miscarriage, the majority before the woman even knew she was pregnant. And that almost all miscarriages happened in the first trimester. So, even if the blood test confirmed the pregnancy, it was still too early to make solid plans... to become too excited or involved. Nell didn't want to experience that sort of heartache, and even though it was likely not possible, was going to try not to become too invested in the impending child before matters were more certain.

"Well, keep me updated," Danny said, his smile turning bittersweet. "And maybe I can find the time to get out there for some of your appointments? If that's something you'd like me to do."

A pleased warmth filled her over the knowledge that he wanted to be there with her, that he was a little sad that there was half an ocean between them. And the thought of him sitting beside her, holding her hand, as the doctor examined her parturient womb, watching an ultrasound generate an image of the infant within... It was immensely comforting. Because despite his ability to formulate an extremely solid rant, his presence was somehow calming. Perhaps because he was one of the most reliable, loyal and compassionate persons she'd ever met.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I went there… the cliché accidental pregnancy route. And they seem to be mostly happy about it. But is it really going to be so easy for them…?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I hadn't intended to be so Nell-centric, but inspiration is just sort of favoring her (why she's the character that I've written the most in my entire 'writing career', I'm not sure, but it is what it is). More Danno to come, I promise (And yes, you can take that with a filthy connotation, if you'd like).**

* * *

 _ **Another Five Weeks Later...**_

Nell pulled her legs to her chest as tight as she could, hugging them to her and burying her face between her knees, forming a tight little ball on the cold bathroom floor.

Fetal position, is what people called it. She briefly wondered if the fetus growing in her uterus, wreaking havoc on the rest of her body, was currently curled up in the supposed serene position.

It wasn't doing much of anything for her.

It wasn't enough. She wanted to crawl inside of herself, sort of implode into nothingness. And it wasn't just the nausea, exhaustion and sort of ubiquitous body ache that was currently making her so sick she wanted to die. She'd actually gotten sort of used to her body's trying to cope with the changes, and _failing_ , over the past few weeks. Odd, how the first couple months of pregnancy had passed without seeming to affect her at all, but this third month, this last leg of the first trimester... Nell wondered if she or the baby would even survive.

God, she was being melodramatic. It was more emotional at the moment than anything else, she knew. She'd been following the recommended schedule of check-ups with her doctor. They'd done all of the standard tests. Granted, it had taken longer to get the pertinent information from Danny's medical file, because they couldn't just do a blood test on him in person, but supposedly there weren't any genetic conflicts between them that would cause Nell to become very ill and miscarry. Although, at the moment, she questioned those results. Maybe her baby had a different Rh than herself and their two immune systems had started battling.

No.

She sighed, the kind of pathetic sigh that ended in a melancholic moan of despair.

No, it was definitely emotional. Some days, most days, when she was feeling sad, it was because Danny wasn't there and she wanted him there, with her, holding her.

At the moment, however, if she wanted him there with her at all, it was to punch him in the stomach. See how he liked it, the bastard. He had done this to her. All of it.

Okay, okay. It took two people to make a baby. And she'd definitely been a more than willing participant in that. But it was still his fault for making her want to have sex with him, for being ridiculously charming and irresistible to her in his annoying and yet endearing way. Not to mention he'd started it all, by asking her to dinner, what, almost three years ago now.

That had been it. That had been the moment that had changed her life forever.

It was rare to be able to pin those types of choices down, the precise second life turned down another path. But that was it. He looked at her with those beautiful steel blue eyes and a facetious grin, and she'd been a goner. Of course, she hadn't known it at the time.

Bastard.

She loved him. She _loved_ him. And she was pregnant with his baby.

And she was completely and utterly _miserable_.

They'd had an argument. A real one. And she'd left it just hanging there, without apologizing, without trying to work it out, without even responding to his final 'I'm just worried about you. I love you.'

Danny probably thought she hated him. Her stomach clenched and twisted. But she'd just finished throwing up and then retched nothing for a while, and the exhausted muscle didn't have the capacity to make her dry heave more.

She supposed she did hate him. In the way only someone you love can get to you, drive that sort of intense passionate response. He thought he knew everything, thought he knew what she needed, could tell her what to do with _her_ life.

She let the tears of frustration well up and spill over, tired of fighting them as she rocked herself gently on the floor. It wasn't as if the man had made demands of her, had given her an ultimatum, or even asked her to consider giving up her life in Los Angeles. In fact, he hadn't mentioned it at all. The only thing he talked about when the subject of their living so far apart came up -and it came up often, lately- was that he wished he wasn't stuck on an island in the middle of the ocean, that he wished he could be there for her every day.

But he couldn't.

More-so than she couldn't go to him, Danny Williams could not leave the life he had in Hawaii to be with her. And Nell would never ask him to walk away from his friends, his family, _Grace_. She couldn't do that to him. She never wanted to do that. And yet, she wanted him here. She wanted him close by, to come home to, to wrap her arms around and bury her face in his neck, in his chest, breathing in his scent that was a strange mix of musky male and a tropical aroma. She wanted to listen to him talk, his voice rising and falling, changing tones and tenors as he narrated some story or ranted about some random point. To watch his hands illustrate his speech, his emotions, his entire fiery being. His lively blue eyes and his devastating smile.

But she was alone.

She hated being alone. And she hated him for being right about it.

Danny had been slowly pressuring her to tell her coworkers, her friends, about the pregnancy, because -he claimed- he couldn't be there with her, and he didn't want her to be alone, to go to doctor's appointments alone, to have no one to run to the store when she was having a craving or some unforeseen discomfort arose, to talk to about everything she was going through. He knew, he seemed to know, that while she told him much of the details of her daily life, her feelings, she still held some things back. She only did it because she knew he'd feel guilty that he wasn't there, wasn't there to rub her aching back, to massage her swollen feet, to hold her hair back when she threw up, to wrap his body around hers and show her, convince her with the comfort of his presence that everything was going to be okay.

But the thing was... She didn't have anyone else.

Hetty knew about her condition. Obviously, there was no way she could keep it from her mentor, the old spy. But Hetty had enough to worry about, couldn't be there to hold Nell's hand through her pregnancy woes. Besides, while knowledgeable in many things and possessing a flock of wayward persons that were like children to her, Henrietta Lange had never gone through what Nell was facing... childbirth and motherhood. Not to even mention the wrench Nell had thrown into the crafty woman's master plans, whatever they may be, by getting knocked up, and falling in love, too.

As for the others... Eric was a selfish child. Don't get her wrong, he was a good friend to her, but a friend in that child-like way. They shared common interests and, well, played together... video games, movies, nerding out on fandoms and science. He wasn't a good friend in the 'adult' capacity, someone with whom to discuss deep emotional problems and fears.

The field agents... well, they weren't the 'little house with a picket fence and 2.5 children' type. Except Sam Hanna. He was the only one who would really understand what Nell was going through, being a parent himself, raising a couple of kids that he obviously loved. But again, he had enough concerns. It's not like he could devote time to being a friend to Nell, even if he wanted to (which Nell liked to think that he might) when he had a duty to his own family, and any spare time or emotional reserves he had were committed to his troubled best friend. As for that man, Callen was a loner, had yet to straighten his own personal life out, to truly accept his solitary nature. He couldn't help Nell, sweet though he often was to her. They didn't have the kind of friendship where she could complain about her back aching and not being able to sleep through the night anymore, and he could share about how smitten he was with his dumb girlfriend.

Okay, that was rude. But Nell honestly did not like that woman, Joelle. Granted, Callen had lied to her. But did she not realize he'd also been lying to himself, that who he was when he was with her was nothing but a fictition. She shouldn't've taken him back. Just because she was lonely... Nell sighed, she supposed she could identify with that. But screwed up though her situation with Danny Williams may be, Nell was herself with the man, completely. And she knew it was the same with the detective, because frankly, he was incapable of being anyone but his true self, whether it offended or pushed people away, or drew them closer than he wanted.

Maybe she could turn to Deeks. He had a similar genuineness as Danny, even when he was undercover. It must be far more difficult for the LAPD detective than the others, because whereas the special agents could shut it away, he carried his personality and his heart through every role he played. The thing was, his attention was completely occupied by Kensi. How could Nell burden the man with her problems when he was carrying the weight of his own and those of the partner he loved?

Kensi was completely out of the question. They both may be female, but despite a supposedly secretly feminine side, Kensi was not a _woman_. She was a _girl_ desperately trying to prove herself with the boys. Oh, they accepted her. They would've accepted her even without the 'badass' front, but she'd been acting tough all her life, afraid to be vulnerable, to be human even for a moment. And the real reason she was still resisting Deeks' love despite their being together, was because she was terrified it would compromise the person she was, the person she'd painstakingly built over the years. The woman was about as genuine as $5 gold watch. That didn't mean that Nell disliked her. The intelligence analyst admired and respected the special agent, rather liked her, actually. But she couldn't turn to her for emotional support.

Her family was on the other side of the continent. Danny was two thousand five hundred and fifty-eight miles away.

She supposed that she should've explained the reasons why she was keeping her 'friends' in the dark, why she couldn't turn to them for support, but it was complicated and Danny would likely only get on his high horse. Once he calmed down, he'd understand. But to be honest, it was also hurtful to Nell to realize that people she'd considered friends simply weren't in fact the kind of friends she needed at the moment. If she were facing a fire fight, then hell yeah, they'd be the ones she'd call. But 'normal people' problems... they weren't equipped for that.

Nell indulged in feeling sorry for herself, the silent tears transforming into a true sobbing, hiccupping, burning eyes, stinging skin, hyperventilating, pity-party.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I know I'm rather harsh on the NCIS LA team, here, but it's residual frustration with the writing from the last season and the failure to add any development/depth to the characters. Somehow, Kensi and Deeks together is just the same as before, only without the chemistry. Callen dating some stupid woman doesn't seem right as well, and still chasing after his family history but never finding anything substantive? Eric is still a horrible stereotype, they've done nothing with Nell, and Hetty is just dialing it in. Sam is the same well-rounded, strong character that he ever was (and is the only one that I don't care that they haven't had him 'grow'… he knows who he is and he'd confident in it. I like it on him). Mainly, it the interaction of the characters I find lacking, and I see no 'team' bond between them. They only have exchanges with their partners. Ahem, anyway, I apologize if there's some hatefulness in there. I think Nell cares about them, but they would not be capable of giving her the type of friendship she needs in the situation I put her in.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I think this is the second Steve & Danny having a conversation in the car scene I've done in this fic, but we all know that's their primary bonding/arguing time.**

* * *

Apparently, Danny Williams had sighed just one too many times. He hadn't even noticed he'd been doing it until suddenly the camaro was veering off the road, coming to such a sudden stop that it kicked up a cloud of dust from the shoulder that engulfed them like a sandstorm and obscured the outside world. Not to mention causing his seatbelt to lock across his chest as he was thrown forward from the momentum with bruising force. He sent a hateful glare at his wreckless, _insane_ partner. Only to find himself preempted by Steve's patented intense glare, which Danny had concluded was worse than laser sights.

If you found yourself with a little red dot on your chest, you pretty much knew what was coming next. I.e. your demise. He had unfortunately intimate knowledge that it could be a bomb, as well as a bullet. But the final result was the same (unless you were considerably lucky). Your death.

With Steve's laser-beam glare, however, matters could go any number of ways, including the same sort of terminal finality as a bullet. Or in fact, a literal _bullet_ was also a possibility.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Danny shook his head, uncertain whether he'd actually spoken, or if Steve had just stolen the words right out of his head. He thought he had scolded his partner, apparently in sync with the other man's same sharp words. At least, Danny's mouth was still open.

He closed it. Glared.

Steve glared back. There was a slight nuance to the glare, that said 'I'm staring hatefully at you because I care'. And yes, the expression was different than 'I'm staring hatefully at you because you're a crazy murderer' or 'I'm staring hatefully at you because you drank my last beer even though you always end up covering my bar tab at the end of the night and the least I could do is let you have free access to the contents of my fridge when you're a guest in my home.'

"Okay, Danny. You're gonna tell me, and you're gonna tell me right now, what's been bothering you for the past few weeks?" Steve said, taking advantage of Danny's lapse into self-indulgent inner rambling. The bastard.

The detective opened his mouth to deny all, but his 'friend' cut him off.

"And don't you dare tell me that nothing's bothering you. I know you better than that. Plus, you've been so fucking snippy the past week that even Chin is having a hard time excusing your behavior. And you well know he always gives you the benefit of the doubt.

"So out with it," Steve continued to stare him down until he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tugged at the seized seatbelt, unlatched it, only to realize it hadn't been what was making it difficult to breathe. "We aren't moving from this spot until you tell me, buddy."

Unable to withstand the intense SEAL stare, Danny let his gaze slide to the windshield and the world beyond the space that was feeling a little cramped. The dust had settled outside of the car, but Danny felt like the sandstorm was still closing in on him, choking and stinging, threatening to tear all of his skin off, leaving him vulnerable, exposed to the harsh world.

He sighed when he looked back at his partner, his _friend_. Steve was showing a good deal of patience, he had to admit. It was the intimidating kind that said 'I can lay in this sniper's foxhole all night until my target appears'.

"Nell's pregnant."

Dark eyebrows shot up a forehead that went from smooth to furrowed. Dark blue eyes widened.

"Yours?"

"What?! Of course, Mr. Paranoia. Nell is not the type to sleep around, even when she's only in a long-distance semi-committed relationship." Danny couldn't help his snappish response, but he supposed the way he'd been acting, his friend would assume that it wasn't a good situation. But it wasn't the fact that his long-distance girlfriend was pregnant that was making him miserable. It was the fact that he'd apparently nagged at his pregnant girlfriend just a little bit too much and she'd withdrawn. She'd only sent him curt replies to his texts and hadn't answered his calls or returned the messages he'd left on her voicemail.

"Wow. Uh, congrats, Danno," Steve said, looking genuinely pleased for his friend before his expression returned to a concerned one. He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable even though it had been he who'd opened the can of worms to discussing personal things like emotions. "I mean...uh, it's a good thing, right? You're happy about the baby, aren't you?"

"Yes. If the kid takes after her, it'll be cute and smart," Danny said, thinking about how fortunate he was that Grace was his daughter. "Really, it's lucky Grace takes after her mother. Better that my kids don't take after me."

Steve frowned.

"Whadya mean?"

"Do we really need to get into a discussion of my flaws right now?" Danny didn't need them expounded upon, either by himself or Steve. He was feeling guilty enough already that he'd pushed the issue with Nell that she obviously didn't want to face, or wanted to deal with on her own. She could be as stubborn and snappy as Danny himself could, even though overall, the young woman was decidedly more sweet-tempered than the cynical ex-pat Jersey detective.

"I think Grace and Nell, and even Rachel would agree with me, Danny," Steve said, giving him that sincere, slightly sad puppy-eyed look. "You have far more good qualities to pass on to your kids than bad ones."

Danny bit his bottom lip, looking out the passenger window and swallowing down the lump in his throat. Despite knowing how Steve felt about him, that they were undeniably the most devoted kind of best friends, it still hit him hard in the heart whenever the tough ex-SEAL showed him respect and affection without the standard accompaniment of teasing to lighten the mood.

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Steve asked when Danny finally found himself capable of facing his friend again. "You're a good father. And you've been through it before, so you already know what to expect."

Steve continued to study him with his uncomfortably intense blue gaze, and it was all Danny could do not to squirm in his seat. When the normally verbose detective failed to say anything, his partner pressed on, obviously feeling around for the problem.

"Nell must feel more at ease, having your experience and advice."

Danny did shift, feeling a knot of muscle tense in his lower back. Sometimes with Steve McGarrett, it was better just to get things over with. The bastard, God love him, was persistent.

"She's uh... She's rather pissed at me at the moment," Danny said. "Maybe permanently. I dunno... I thought I was trying to help her. She's isolated herself from her friends for some reason. There's no one there to help her..."

Danny studied his hands.

"With the pregnancy, you mean," Steve said. "Why don't you go spend some time with her?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love Nell, and I miss her, and I _want_ to be there with her, do whatever I can to help her as she grows our baby..." Danny ground his teeth, shaking his head in frustration. "But my _life_ is here, on this damned island that's so far from civilization but God help me I've gone native because I just can't wrap my mind around ever leaving it, like it's not even an option my stupid brain will consider as existing."

Steve grinned stupidly at him.

 _Yeah, live it up, Island-boy. Danny 'I hate Paradise' Williams admitted that Hawaii was his home and he wouldn't contemplate leaving it, even for the woman he loved._

"I'm not sayin' you should leave forever, Danno," the ex-Seal said. "Just take some time, whenever you need, go and be with her. We'd understand. Grace would understand. She's a smart, compassionate girl, Danny. She won't hold your being there for her new brother or sister against you... hey, do you know, by the way, boy or girl?"

"No. I think she was waiting for me to be there to find out."

Danny actually felt a little bit relieved. He had to admit that Steve, military-brain-washed though he sometimes behaved, had a way of calming him down emotionally, of helping him see a solution to a problem that just moments before seemed impossible. It didn't solve everything. It didn't really solve anything. But it made Danny feel like perhaps, this wasn't a problem that _couldn't_ be resolved.

He loved Nell. She was having his baby. And he would be there for them both. It was that simple. His Hawaiian _ohana_ would understand that meant he might not be there for them a couple of times, but he had been there for them for so _many_ others (and they for him) that it wouldn't really matter, it wouldn't break the bonds between them. They were more immutable than any Danny had ever known in his entire life before coming to Hawaii, before meeting Steve McGarrett and joining Five-0.

And Steve was right. Grace was a great girl with a big heart. She would understand... Once he told her about her impending sibling, that was...

"Okay," Danny said. "I'm going to the Mainland."

"Today," Steve added firmly. "We've got this case covered, Danny. Please, go. Make up with Nell. You're driving me crazy like this."

" _I'm_ driving _you_ crazy? You're the maniac who decides the best time to discuss my feeling blue is to veer off the highway going 70 miles per hour... " Danny began ranting, a huge grin plastered on his face as Steve put the car into drive and they headed back to Honolulu to pack a suitcase and book a plane ticket.

* * *

 **A/N: Bored yet? Hopefully not, there will be some fun/exciting stuff a little later on in this fic. And if you enjoy romance/drama/fluff/smut, then definitely stick around, because there'll be more of that first.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I still have plans for Nell and Danny… (Well, already established events in my head, which I might as well write out).**

* * *

Nell ground her teeth together, dug her fingernails into her palm. But there wasn't much she could do to combat the cold sweat that had broken out on her skin. The smell of antiseptics and preservatives churned her stomach terribly.

How stupid had she been to agree to this?

Hetty had looked at her, raising an eyebrow, asking if she were certain she were up for it, and Nell had glared at the old meddlesome woman in a way she would've never dared to do just a few months ago. Had her extra concern, her implication about Nell's compromised state given everything away to her coworkers? It was Nell's choice when or _whether_ she told the others. Not Henrietta Lange's.

But god, everything was about to come out, or _up_ as it were, her stomach heaving, threatening to expel her lunch.

"Nell, you okay?" G Callen trained concerned blue eyes on her, which were promptly joined by his partner's soft, dark gaze as well as the coroner's slate blue one.

"Yup." She spoke curtly, hurriedly. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get out of there, find the nearest bathroom and throw up her lunch. That's what she got for trying to put jelly on the plain old peanut butter sandwich. She'd gotten tired of eating the only thing that didn't come back up on her, breakfast lunch and dinner. Peanut butter on Wonder Bread. Yuck. She was already fighting with her unborn child, trying to convince them to expand their culinary horizons, but the stubborn fetus steadfastly refuse to let her digest anything but drab, dreary old peanut butter sandwiches.

"That's Shane MacDonald."

The corpse laid out on the exam table was respectfully covered. Rose had turned down the sheet enough to reveal a sadly familiar face. It momentarily distracted her from the nausea that was threatening to become a full blown bout of regurgitation.

Poor guy. The last time Nell had seen him had been... Holy crap, six years ago. It had been, hadn't it? They'd been in the same accelerated graduate program for political science analytics, had both been recruited by the federal government. But after successfully completing Homeland's intelligence analyst program, Shane had gone off to his post with the CIA, her with NCIS' Office of Special Projects. He'd turned up dead in connection with one of their intelligence leak investigations, under an alias of course. But Nell had recognized him from the photo, and with the CIA giving them the run-around, not confirming the fingerprints and DNA they'd passed on to the tight-lipped agency, she'd agreed to go down to the morgue to confirm in person.

She remembered the last time she'd seen him, his brown eyes flashing with excitement. He seemed so young now as she brought up the memory of him practically bouncing on his toes as they checked their final standings in their class of aspiring secret agents.

"What happened to you?" she asked beneath her breath, turning so that she could look straight upon the lifeless, grey face. A sudden wave of chemical scent engulfed her, chokingly so, and she felt her gorge rise up fast. She placed her hand over her mouth, and spun around, spotting the big metal sinks against the wall just ten feet away. She ran to them, gripped the steel edge so hard her knuckles popped as she leaned over the large sink and surrendered, feeling relieved even as her stomach tensed into a knot and emptied its contents, burning the back of her throat. She heaved again, then gagged a few times.

Suddenly, there was a reassuring hand on her back. It was too small to be either of the boys. Another slender hand appeared in her field of vision, turning the water on, as Rose told her that the it was safe to drink, and Nell greedily cupped some in her hand, filling her mouth, swishing it about to rinse the lingering acid and spitting it out before taking a big gulp, feeling the cold water flow down her esophagus and into her stomach, quelling the heat of the irritated GI tissues.

When she was no longer gasping for air and straightened herself, turning to face her coworkers (the badass agents that still made her feel inadequate and awkward) she was well aware of the blush coloring her fair cheeks. Maybe they would just assume it was because of her being sick.

They'd covered Shane's face, so that he was just a lumpy, vaguely humanoid-shaped sheet. Which was actually very sweet of Callen and Sam. She tried to give them a reassuring smile, for the sympathetic looks on their faces.

"It's nothin' to be ashamed of, Nell," Sam said, squeezing her shoulder gently. He was just a big teddy bear.

"Yeah. It happens to all of us," Callen said, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm after his partner had removed his large hand. His expression was more sad than anything. Sometimes, she wondered how the agent remained so good-humored with all of the emotional baggage weighing him down. "Especially if it's someone you know..."

Nell simply nodded.

"Let's get outta here," Sam said.

"Um, Nell?" Rose interrupted before she could follow her fellow agents out of the cold morgue that reeked of chemicals which had begun to sour her stomach once more. "Can I get you to sign the paperwork for the identification of the body?"

There was something in the look Rose gave her. Nell wouldn't say that they were the best of friends, or even really all that close. But she'd hung out with her enough times, those rare girls' nights that Rose, Kensi and Nell had arranged, to be able to read the medical examiner's micro-expressions.

"You guys go ahead." Sam and Callen obviously could read Nell's own micro-expressions, for they complied without complaint, leaving her alone with the compassionate woman.

"Just sign it at the bottom." Rose handed her a clipboard and pen, and Nell could feel the woman's eyes boring into her as she filled out the paperwork as instructed.

"What?" Nell asked.

"How far along is your pregnancy?" Rose asked. Nell's head snapped up and she knew her eyes had gone as wide as those of a deer caught in an oncoming car's headlights. "I mean, if it's something you don't mind telling me about-"

Now Rose's cheeks were flushing scarlet.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's none of my business. It's just- Sam and Callen don't know, do they? It must be recent. I know we haven't really talked lately, I know you're busy, but I didn't know you were dating anyone. And oh, god, I'm rambling."

She hastily covered her mouth with her hands, making Nell smile. They did have so much in common, Rose and her. Why had she let herself forget that, neglect their tentative friendship. Oh, right, because she'd had Danny, and unfortunately with the way Nell was, it was difficult for her to maintain too many close friendships. She gave them her all, but only in limited number.

"It's none of my business. Just ignore me."

Rose gave her an uncertain smile, obviously afraid she'd offended Nell.

"No," Nell said, giving her neglected friend a smile. "It's okay."

She sighed, feeling suddenly relieved as she decided to tell Rose everything, answer all of her curious, concerned questions.

"I'm 17 weeks. The father's name is Danny. He lives in Hawaii. And no one at work knows except for Hetty."

Rose's eyes grew wide, and Nell prepared herself for a scolding or a lecture or questions as to why she was keeping it a secret. But all she got was an exuberant, "Oh, congratulations! Boy or Girl? Or do you know yet? Are you excited? What's the nursery theme? Are you both healthy?"

Nell felt a giddy sort of warmth blossom inside of her, a happiness she hadn't felt in weeks, not since telling Danny and witnessing his joyful reaction. She'd let herself fall into misery and self-pity as the morning sickness plagued her and the loneliness began to depress her.

But maybe she didn't have to tell her team, bear their various reactions, some false, some genuine, and then their treating her like glass or like a pariah, just to not feel so alone. Maybe Rose could be her flesh and blood sounding board, when Danny-over-the-phone or texts weren't enough (Danny-not-in-person would never be enough, not when she wanted to hold him, be held by him).

"Maybe we can get together for dinner?" Nell asked, a silly nervous knot tightening her throat. "I'll tell you everything. And maybe you can help me out with a couple questions and concerns I have?"

Rose beamed at her. "I'd love that. My nights have been filled with ramen and tivo-ed soaps. It's so depressing."

"Alright," Nell said, swallowing down a different sort of lump, as the nausea asserted itself once more. "Text me when you get out of work. I 've got to get out of here. The-"

"-chemicals, yeah." Rose nodded her head and Nell hastily made for the door.

"Hey," Nell said, turning to her newly rediscovered friend as a thought occurred to her. "How'd you know? I'm not showing that much already, am I?"

"That dress hides it pretty well," Rose said. "But you've been here several times before and you've never shown any signs of the morgue getting to you. Your gait has already changed slightly from your hips widening. And you keep rubbing your lower back."

"You're wasted in here," Nell said, giving her friend a wink. Rose smiled, before urging her to leave before she made a mess on the floor that the coroner did not want to clean up.

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! Nell found a friend. I know it was a little strange to go with Rose, but she just felt like a viable option in the scenario I've set up, in which Nell feels like she can't turn to her teammates/friends. Sometimes it's easier to talk to relative strangers about personal problems than it is close friends (you're not afraid of their judging you, being disappointed in you, etc.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for the update. It would've been ready much sooner but I had spent some time trying to force it into being the reunion of Nell and Danny (sensing that you guys are sick of my drawing this out) but it just wasn't right for the story… not yet. If you're not too bored/frustrated and stick around, I promise you they will be together again in two or three chapters, and it will be quite the reunion.**

* * *

It had been a long time since Danny had experienced the sensation of an agitated swarm of butterflies fluttering madly about in his stomach. Yes, of course he got nervous and afraid in certain circumstances. His stomach often clenched into a knot when they were involved in a high-speed car chase or about to bust down a bad guy's door in full-blown tactical mode. But that was all normal survival, flight-or-fight, adrenaline-induced response.

This, this was twelve year old boy leaning in for his first kiss. Knocking on the door to pick up the girl you've had a crush on for all of junior and senior year for your first official date. Flying 2500 miles to surprise your pregnant girlfriend whom you haven't seen in... well, since the time of accidental conception.

Accident. Maybe just the best accident of Danny's life. He had to place Rachel's on-purpose car accident when they first met pretty high, even if the woman had ultimately shattered his heart, because, well, he'd gotten Grace out of it. And Grace was the love of his life. There was nothing his daughter could ever do that would make him stop loving her. Ever.

And now, now he had Nell, whom he also loved a great deal, who could also break his heart into a million pieces if she so desired. But Danny Williams had a feeling that if anything, he might just be breaking hers. He was the one who'd invaded her life. He'd been the one to make that first step beyond 'we worked together once on a case.' He'd been the one that decided to go for it, dropped all of his misgivings and barriers, let her in, let himself fall in love with her. He'd gotten her pregnant. He'd altered her life forever. And fuck him, he just couldn't change his life for her, even though he wanted to. Too many people depended on him. Too many people that he loved were on this stupid island. His heart had been forcibly transplanted to Hawaii, and its roots had become so intensely entwined in the rock, that they would have to be cut to release it, but in a way that it would never survive, _he_ would never survive.

He needed to have that discussion with Nell. They'd avoided it by tacit agreement. How were they going to manage this, a new family, a child, when they lived an ocean apart?

The start was to make up with her, to apologize for pushing her, nagging her, hounding her to reach out to her friends. That was her decision. Maybe he'd done it out of concern, love for her. But it was her life. It was her choice. Just because he'd become dependent on the support of his _ohana_ didn't mean that the independent, strong-willed young woman wanted to reach out to hers. What did he know about the relationships between them, anyway? He couldn't just assume that her team had unbreakable bonds, just because his did.

"Mr. Williams? Your ticket?"

"Hm? Sorry." He handed the harangued-looking woman the printout from the computer. Steve had ordered it for him while he packed a bag, leaving no room for Danny to wheedle out of it, according to his meddlesome friend. The flight attendant, or receptionist, or, what did you call the one who worked the airline kiosk, offered him his boarding pass. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Kono Kalakaua.

"Hey, Kono. Can't talk, just about to catch a flight to the Mainland." _Mainland?_ When had he started sounding like a native? It wasn't the Mainland, all one big conglomeration. It was 48 different states, different socio-cultural groups. He was going to California.

/Danny, It's Steve./

His heart skipped a beat.

/He's been shot. He's in surgery right now./

"How bad?"

/They're not sure. He wasn't wearing a vest. Point blank in the chest. We- we were just finishing up canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses to that theft ring. There wasn't any warning. I couldn't-/

"Hey, hey, Kono. It's not you're fault. Okay. He's strong. He'll be fine. I-I'm on my way. Okay? Chin with you?"

/Yeah. And Grover./

"Good."

The stewardess-flight-attendant-receptionist-clerk was glaring at Danny, passionately stabbing the air in his direction with the boarding pass. Danny hastily snatched it, knowing he didn't have time or energy to argue with the woman about a refund he wouldn't get.

"Can I have my bag back?" he asked. She scowled in confusion.

"What? Sir?"

"I'm a cop. My partner has been shot. I will not be getting on the plane. And if at all possible I prefer that my luggage did not either, thank you very much."

"I'm not allowed. TSA is very strict about the handling of baggage. This isn't standard."

Danny flashed his badge. "I'm Five-O. Tell TSA to bitch to the governor if there's a problem. But he's not going to care because the leader of his special task force is currently undergoing surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his chest, put there from some malcontent while he was doing his job of trying to keep the people on this island safe and I was here undergoing the torturous process of air travel rather than having his back."

She turned, pulled his suitcase off the conveyor belt. He tried to give her a grateful smile as he took it, feeling bad about the rant he hadn't been able to stifle, but knew the gesture came across as a grimace.

There was an altogether different swarm of butterflies in his stomach. He felt ill. Dizzy and lightheaded. He only wanted to get to the hospital, as if his being there would somehow make a difference, like his presence would in any way help his best friend to survive.

He ducked into the nearest bathroom, pulling the phone from his pocket and fumbling to call the only person beside Steve whose voice would calm him at the moment. Well, Grace always had a calming affect on him, too. But he couldn't worry her, couldn't tell her about Uncle Steve being shot when he wouldn't be able to sound confident, certain in telling her that the man she adored (sometimes Danny jealously thought more than her own father) would be fine.

"Please pick up," he whispered to the phone as it rang. She'd been ducking his calls all week. But he needed her right now. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He only wanted to get to Steve. But he couldn't breathe.

/Danny?/ There was laughter in Nell Jones' voice. There was laughter in the background. And it seemed so unreal. So unfair. When Steve was in the hospital, maybe dying, and Danny couldn't seem to even move, let alone drive over there.

"Nell, I-"

/What is it?/ Her voice sobered, concern flattening and then pitching her tone. /What's wrong? Are you okay?/

"Steve's been shot."

/Oh, my god. Is he alright?/

"I-I don't know." Danny swallowed, trying to dislodge the tight knot in his throat, but it didn't budge. "I'm at the airport."

/You aren't with him?/ Confusion. Was he really that ridiculously loyal to the man that even Nell who had never met Steve was disturbed to hear that he wasn't at the hospital. Well, it appeared that he couldn't leave him alone for even a couple hours. Damned cavalier SEAL.

"I was about to catch a flight to Los Angeles, to see you," Danny said, he was leaning against the tile wall, felt his legs grow weak and slid down it to sit on the likely filthy floor. But he didn't care. It didn't matter. Not when Steve might be dying. And he needed to go to his friend but his legs seemed incapable of working. Damned caring, meddlesome SEAL. "Steve, he, uh, he found out that we'd had a disagreement. He insisted that I go see you right away, made me pack a bag, ordered me a ticket, dropped me off at the airport."

His friend couldn't be seriously hurt. Someone so compassionate, so loyal and loving, protective and empathetic couldn't be taken from the world. It needed him. Hawaii needed him. The team needed him. Danny needed him.

/I know you do, Danny./ Had he said that aloud? Did it matter that Nell knew the heart and soul of him, his weaknesses as well as his strengths? That before her, so many times, Grace and his friendship with Steve had been the only things that kept him going.

/Just go, call a cab, commandeer a car, whatever you have to do to get to him. You can do this, Danny. I know it's terrifying, and frustrating, but you can be there when he comes out of surgery, when he wakes up, with the rest of his family and people he loves. He'd want you there./

Danny laughed bitter-sweetly. "Actually, he'd probably tell me to get my ass on the plane, and go be with you."

/He needs you more than I do, right now. It's okay Danny. Call me as soon as you know anything, okay? Just say the word, and I'll come to you./

How could he tell her that he both needed her and didn't want her there? He wanted more than anything to feel her arms around his neck, her hands rubbing his back, to bury his face in her shoulder and breathe in the scent of her, feel her comforting warmth. But at the same time, he'd have to pick her up at the airport, or call someone to do it, arrange for her to stay in his house or a hotel, make sure there was food for her, that she was taken care of. He knew she could and would take of herself, but the nurturer in him, the finicky nitpicker would still have those thoughts, would still worry about taking care of her. And now that he'd gotten past the threat of a panic attack, thanks to hearing Nell's calming, sure voice, he could only think about his injured friend.

"I-"

/-can't handle the logistics of me showing up right now./

Did she really know him so well? Or was she simply a genius? Maybe both.

"I'm sorry, Nell."

/Don't be. I understand. Anything at all, Danny, call me./

"Okay."

/I mean it. I don't care what time it is. If I'm at home or at work or in the middle of a doctor's appointment with my legs up in the air and-/

Danny laughed. God love her, Nell was doing her damnest to calm him down, distract his mind from entertaining the worst case scenarios about Steve's injury. It was helping. He hadn't even realized he'd pulled himself up off from the nasty airport bathroom floor and made his way out to the taxi queue. A driver jolted him into reality as he took Danny's suitcase from his hand and ran around to load it in the trunk.

/So promise me, Danny. If you need to talk, call me. If you need to see me, ask me to make the trip./

"Okay, I promise," Danny said, climbing into the cab and telling the driver to take him to the hospital where Kono, Chin, Grover, and hell, probably Jerry, Kamekona and Max were waiting while their friend underwent surgery.

/And you had better call me as soon as you know Steve's okay./

Danny fought back the tears that threatened. _As soon as_ not _whether_. He had to believe in Nell, her assertion that Steve would be fine. He had to believe that. Had to believe in Steve.

"I will. I love you, Nell."

/I love you, too, Danny./

* * *

 **A/N: At least they've made up…**

 **A/N2: And I wouldn't be too worried about Steve. It would take more than a bullet to put him down. Again, I know I haven't been working in actual canon very much, and probably could've picked from any number of coinciding episodes with firefights/injuries, but this is sort of AU crossover melding.**


End file.
